Ukraine releases photos of Russia's Oreshnik hypersonic missile wreckage Photo

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) has released photographs showing the wreckage of the Russian hypersonic Oreshnik missile used in an overnight attack on the western city of Lviv. 

Ukrainian authorities said that the strike targeted the region’s “life support infrastructure,” Caliber.Az reports. 

Moscow stated on January 9 that it deployed its hypersonic Oreshnik missile along with 242 drones and 36 other missiles, targeting Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, including energy facilities and drone manufacturing sites. 

Russia claimed the attack was retaliation for what it described as a Ukrainian drone attempt on one of President Vladimir Putin’s residences, a claim Kyiv has dismissed as false. The strike was part of a broader overnight offensive on January 9, which Kyiv says killed four people and injured at least 22.

This is the second combat use of the intermediate-range Oreshnik missile, which President Putin has described as “impossible to intercept” due to its speed, reportedly over ten times the speed of sound.

The Oreshnik was first used in combat on November 21, 2024, when Russia struck a defence-industrial facility in the city of Dnipro. 

By Sabina Mammadli