Russian Defence Ministry confirms use of Oreshnik missile in strike on Ukraine

Alona Mazurenko - 9 January, 08:48

ілюстративне фото: випробування РФ балістичних ракет на полігоні Капустин Яр

The Russian Defence Ministry has claimed that the use of the Oreshnik missile against Ukraine was in response to an alleged drone attack on one of Russian leader Vladimir Putin's residences, as reported by Russian officials at the end of December.

Source: Russian media outlets, citing the Russian Defence Ministry

Quote: "Last night, in response to a terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime on the residence of the Russian president in Novgorod Oblast conducted on the night of 28-29 December 2025, the Russian Armed Forces launched a large-scale strike using high-precision long-range land- and sea-based weapons, including the Oreshnik mobile ground-based medium-range missile system and attack drones targeting critically important facilities in Ukraine." [N.B. Ukrainska Pravda does not recognise Putin as president – ed.]

Details: Russia claimed that the attacks had targeted drone production facilities and Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

Background:

On the evening of 8 January, explosions were heard in Lviv after an air-raid warning was issued. It later emerged that a critical infrastructure facility in Lviv Oblast had been hit.
Colonel Yurii Ihnat, Head of the Communications Department of Ukraine's Air Force Command, said in a comment to Ukrainska Pravda that Russia may have launched a strike on Lviv Oblast from the Kapustin Yar testing range in Russia's Astrakhan Oblast, where, according to early reports, the Oreshnik missile system is based.
Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi said it is currently unknown whether Russia used an Oreshnik missile in the attack on Lviv Oblast.
On 29 December, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that Ukraine had struck Putin's residence, saying this would lead to a review of Russia's negotiating position.
Ukraine has officially denied the claims of any attack on the Kremlin leader's residence.
Two days later, the Russian Defence Ministry published a fake map supposedly showing the flight path of Ukrainian drones. Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service pointed to a number of facts indicating that the story of an attack on Putin's residence had been fabricated.

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