Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, came under a large-scale missile and drone attack in the early hours of Sunday, May 24, 2026, following a rare warning from Ukrainian air defenses about a potential hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile launch. The assault caused explosions across the city, injured at least three people, and damaged multiple residential buildings. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed debris from the attack set fire to part of a central school’s grounds. The incident marks another escalation in Russia’s aerial campaign against Ukrainian urban centers.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned the day before that intelligence from Ukraine, the U.S., and European partners indicated Russia was preparing to deploy the Oreshnik missile—a weapon Russian President Vladimir Putin claims travels over ten times the speed of sound and is nearly impossible to intercept. This would be the third known use of the Oreshnik if confirmed, following two prior attacks. However, Ukraine’s air force did not confirm whether the hypersonic missile was actually launched or struck Kyiv in this instance.

The attack follows a cycle of retaliation: Russia accused Ukraine of carrying out a drone strike on a student dormitory in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region, prompting Putin to order military planning for reprisals. In response, Ukraine stated it had struck a Russian drone command unit. The exchange underscores the intensifying pattern of cross-border strikes and the growing reliance on long-range missiles and drones in the ongoing war.