War in Ukraine: Russia prepares to strike with the Orechnik hypersonic missile, warns Volodymyr Zelensky

• Moscow is preparing a major strike, warn Volodymyr Zelensky and the American embassy in kyiv this Saturday, May 23.
• The attack could take place in “the next twenty-four hours”.
• Vladimir Putin promised a military response after a strike in Ukrainian territory occupied by Moscow on the night of Thursday to Friday.

Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Saturday May 23 of a potential Russian strike of imminent magnitude with possible use of its Orechnik missile, the American embassy also warning of a risk of strike “over the next twenty-four hours”.

“Our intelligence services reported having received data, in particular from our American and European partners, on preparation by Russia of a strike with the Orechnik missile”indicated the Ukrainian president in a message on social networks, specifying that this information is being verified.

Read also

In Beijing to meet Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin hails the “unprecedented” level of relations between Russia and China

“We see signs of preparations for a combined strike on Ukrainian territory, including kyiv, involving various types of weapons”notably the intermediate-range Orechnik missile, he added, calling on the population to “act with responsibility” and to take refuge in shelters in the event of an alert.

The American embassy in kyiv also “received information regarding a potentially significant air attack which could occur at any time during the next twenty-four hours”according to a press release published on its website.

President Zelensky called on the international community to do “pression” on Russia to dissuade it from such an attack and warned that Ukraine “will respond fully and equally to every Russian strike”.

Missile hypersonique à capacité nucléaire

The Russian army deployed the Orechnik, its most recent nuclear-capable hypersonic missile, last year in Belarus, an allied country bordering three Atlantic Alliance and EU member states, Poland, Lithuania and Russia. Latvia, as well as Ukraine.

Moscow has used it twice since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched in February 2022: in November 2024 against a military factory and in January 2026 against an aircraft factory in western Ukraine, near NATO borders. In both cases, the missiles were not loaded with nuclear warheads.

Vladimir Putin promised a military response after a Ukrainian drone strike on educational buildings in Starobilsk in Ukrainian territory occupied by Moscow on the night of Thursday to Friday, which left at least 18 dead and more than 40 injured. kyiv denied targeting civilian targets and claimed to have struck a Russian drone unit stationed in the region.