European Union leaders are considering putting further pressure on Russia in response to intense bombing of the Ukrainian capital in the early hours of Sunday. Russian forces fired a nuclear-capable missile in one of their heaviest barrages of the war so far.
Issued on: 24/05/2026 - 17:21
2 min Reading time
At least four people died when Russia pounded Kyiv overnight, Ukrainian authorities said, two in the capital and two in the surrounding region. More than 80 people were reported wounded after the assault left damage in some 50 locations across Kyiv, including residential buildings, schools and shopping centres. Russia confirmed it fired its powerful hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile, capable of carrying nuclear or conventional warheads. It is the third time Russia has used the missile during four years of war in Ukraine. Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, called its use "a political scare tactic and reckless nuclear brinkmanship". She said the bloc's top diplomats would meet within days to "discuss how to dial up the international pressure on Russia". Will Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil exports weaken Moscow's war effort? 'Dead end' The attack also included 600 strike drones and 90 missiles, according to Ukraine's air force. Saying the Oreshnik struck the city of Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Russia "genuinely deranged". German Chancellor Friedrich Merz described Russia's decision to use the ballistic missile as a "reckless escalation", while French President Emmanuel Macron said the strikes signalled "the dead end of Russia's war of aggression". "Terror against civilians is not strength. It's despair," European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X.
