Russia May Have Tested Oreshnik Missile in Attack Near Lviv

Russia may have carried out a strike on Ukrainian territory using the Oreshnik missile system, a weapon linked to long-range strategic capabilities, including nuclear delivery potential. According to monitoring groups in Ukraine and the West, Moscow appears to have authorized another launch of this system, with the missile flying toward western Ukraine. The strike, which did not carry an explosive warhead, is widely interpreted as a demonstrative and psychological act rather than a conventional military attack.

Reports of the possible use of the Oreshnik system emerged late on Thursday. This would not be the first such case. In 2024, Russia launched an Oreshnik missile toward the city of Dnipro without a warhead, an action analysts described as a signal of capability rather than an attempt to inflict battlefield damage. Since then, Ukrainian territory has effectively served as a testing ground for showcasing advanced Russian weapons personally associated with President Vladimir Putin’s arsenal.

In the latest incident, the missile’s apparent destination was Ukraine’s Lviv region. Analysts believe the intended target may have been the Stryi underground gas storage facility, the largest such site in Europe. This facility is vital to Ukraine’s winter energy security and also functions as a strategic gas hub for several European countries. Its role extends beyond Ukraine, supporting heating supplies for civilian populations across parts of the continent. Attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure have become a recurring element of Russia’s campaign. On the same night as the Lviv strike, Russian attacks on Kyiv damaged energy facilities and left sections of the capital without power.

Ukraine has not officially confirmed that the Oreshnik missile was used. However, Ukraine’s Air Force Command reported that at 23:47 on January 8, Russian forces launched a ballistic missile at infrastructure targets in the Lviv region. The object was tracked traveling at roughly 13,000 kilometers per hour along a ballistic trajectory, a speed consistent with the characteristics of the Oreshnik system.

Initial information suggests that the Stryi gas storage facility itself was not struck, and the exact target remains unclear. Authorities confirmed that another infrastructure site in Lviv Oblast sustained damage. As with previous launches of this missile type, the projectile reportedly carried no warhead, only an inert mass. The resulting impact crater is therefore attributed to pure kinetic force, created by a large object hitting the ground at speeds exceeding 10,000 kilometers per hour, rather than by an explosion.

Ukrainian officials and security analysts characterize such strikes as acts of intimidation and psychological warfare, not military necessity. Critical civilian infrastructure, such as energy facilities, is protected under the Geneva Conventions and is prohibited from attack. The use of high-speed inert missiles against such targets is seen as an attempt to spread fear and demonstrate technological reach.

The Air Command Zakhid (West) later reiterated that the missile used in the Lviv strike traveled at approximately 13,000 km/h. The exact type of missile will be determined after a detailed examination of its fragments. Explosions were heard in Lviv on the evening of January 8 following the declaration of an air-raid alert, after which it became clear that a key infrastructure site had been hit.

Colonel Yurii Ihnat, head of communications for Ukraine’s Air Force Command, said early assessments suggest the missile may have been launched from the Kapustin Yar testing range in Russia’s Astrakhan Oblast, where the Oreshnik system is believed to be based. Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi stated that it remains unconfirmed whether the Oreshnik was used, noting that the military would provide definitive information once investigations are complete. He confirmed that a critical infrastructure facility was struck, emergency services were deployed, and no civilian casualties or damage to residential buildings had been reported.

Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the Lviv Oblast Military Administration, said laboratory tests conducted at the strike site showed that radiation levels and concentrations of harmful substances in the air remained within normal limits.

The Lviv strike occurred as part of a broader, large-scale Russian missile and drone attack across Ukraine overnight on January 8–9. In Kyiv, four people were killed and 19 injured. Among the dead was a paramedic killed in a so-called double-tap strike, while four other emergency workers were wounded while assisting civilians. Fourteen of the injured were hospitalized, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

Several districts of the capital were affected, including Dniprovskyi and Darnytskyi. Residential buildings in Pechersk and Desnianskyi sustained damage from drones and falling debris, while fires broke out in the Shevchenkivskyi district. Air defenses engaged aerial targets shortly before midnight, following warnings of ballistic missile threats and approaching drones. Further alerts were issued in the early morning hours after Russian fighter jets took off, and additional cruise missile explosions were reported around 3:00 a.m.

Infrastructure damage disrupted electricity and water supplies in parts of Kyiv. Fires were reported in residential buildings, shockwaves damaged rooftops, and debris fell onto playgrounds. In the suburb of Brovary, emergency crews rescued a family, including a five-year-old child, from beneath rubble.

Earlier on January 8, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of an imminent large-scale Russian attack, urging citizens to heed air-raid alerts and seek shelter. He said Russia was attempting to exploit winter weather conditions as part of its strategy. Despite ongoing diplomatic efforts and peace proposals, Russia has continued to bombard Ukraine, frequently targeting energy infrastructure to leave civilians without heating and power during freezing temperatures.

As a result of recent strikes, more than one million people in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast were left without water and heating as of the morning of January 8.