Russia officially recognizes second Oreshnik strike on Ukraine
Vladimir Putin (Photo: EPA)

The Russian Defense Ministry announced a strike on Ukraine with an "Oreshnik" ballistic missile, allegedly in response to an "attack" on the residence of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, which did not actually take place .

The military department of the aggressor state said that on the night of January 9, it had launched "a massive strike with long-range precision weapons of land and sea-based, including the Oreshnik medium-range mobile ground-launched missile system, as well as aircraft against critical facilities on the territory of Ukraine.".

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The Russian Defense Ministry cynically stated that "the target of the strike was achieved" – allegedly, the production facilities for unmanned aerial vehicles and energy infrastructure were hit.

In fact, Russians killed four people in Kyiv and wounded dozens more, including medics, striking again during a rescue operation. There are power, water and heating cuts in the capital .

A strike on a critical infrastructure facility in Lviv. It was here that the aggressor state used a ballistic missile traveling at a speed of about 13,000 km/h – probably an "Oreshnik".

BACKGROUND
The Oreshnik is a Russian intermediate-range ballistic missile equipped with six warheads, each of which contains submunitions. The missile has a minimum range of 700 km and a maximum range of 5,500 km..

Prior to that, there was one confirmed use of the Oreshnik by the Russians against Ukraine in November 2024. Then the occupiers attacked the Dnipro River, launching a missile from the Astrakhan region .

In December 2025, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko boasted that Russia was allegedly completing the transfer of Oreshnik to Belarus. However, according to Defense Express, most of Ukraine is beyond the range of a missile from this location.
  • on December 29, 2025, Lavrov said that Ukrainian drones had allegedly tried to attack Putin's residence in the Novgorod region. Zelenskyy called this a lie and explained: Russia spread the fake to have "grounds" for new strikes on the capital, including government buildings.
  • On the same day, Trump said that Putin told him about the alleged attack on his residence. The US president said "it's not good.".
  • The NWR said Russia is conducting an information operation to disrupt the agreements reached between Zelenskiy and Trump.
  • According to the WSJ, US national security officials said on Dec. 31, that Ukraine did not target Putin or one of his residences in a recent drone strike, casting doubt on Moscow's claims.
  • On January 5, 2026, Trump already said that does not believe in an "attack" on Putin's residence.
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