Ukraine confirms IRBM strike near NATO border

Russia launched its Oreshnik Intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) against Ukraine late on January 8, hitting an area near Lviv close to the European Union and NATO border.

The Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said the nationwide alert began at 11:30 p.m. after they detected ballistic launches from Russia’s Kapustin Yar range.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, “explosions were recorded in the Lviv region” following the alert. Ukraine’s military reported that the missile was fired from the same test area associated with previous ballistic attacks. The Russian Ministry of Defense later confirmed the launch, describing it as the second operational use of the new missile system.

Ukrainian officials said the missile was the Oreshnik, also known as the RS-26, an intermediate-range system derived from the Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile. U.S. officials have previously stated that the weapon is engineered for nuclear delivery against targets in Europe. Ukrainian authorities noted that, as in the first use of the weapon on November 21, 2024, the warhead configuration contained mass-dimensional blocks filled with concrete and metal instead of explosives.

The system first appeared in public after the November 2024 strike on Dnipro, when Ukrainian experts said the missile carried six primary warheads, each containing six sub-munitions, none of which contained explosives. That attack marked the weapon’s emergence as a new component of Russia’s arsenal intended to test ballistic defenses and signaling.

Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha condemned the attack and warned of the implications for European security. “Russia claims it used an intermediate-range ballistic missile, so-called ‘Oreshnik’, against Lviv region,” he said. “Such a strike close to the EU and NATO border is a grave threat to the security on the European continent and a test for the transatlantic community.”

He added: “It is absurd that Russia attempts to justify this strike with the fake ‘Putin residence attack’ that never happened. Another proof that Moscow does not need any real reasons for its terror and war.”

Sybiha said Ukraine is briefing partners on the attack: “We are informing the United States, European partners, and all countries and international organizations about the details of this dangerous strike through diplomatic channels.” He described Russia’s decision to employ an intermediate-range ballistic missile near NATO territory as “a global threat” requiring a coordinated international response.

He also called for broader action targeting Russia’s revenue sources. “There needs to be more strong steps against Russian tanker fleet… as well as Russia’s oil revenues, schemes, and its assets. Not only in the EU but across the world,” he said.

Ukraine will initiate an “urgent meeting of the UN Security Council, a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council, as well as responses within the EU, Council of Europe, and OSCE,” according to Sybiha.

The Oreshnik launch represents an escalation in Russia’s missile employment and raises concerns for NATO monitoring operations along the alliance’s eastern flank. Unlike shorter-range strike systems used throughout the conflict, the Oreshnik’s range class is designed specifically for regional strategic targets, and its deployment in proximity to NATO borders underscores the expanding threat envelope facing European defenses.

At the same time, the launch itself did not come as a surprise: according to Ukrainian and Western officials, the Kremlin provided early notifications to both the United States and China about the planned firing window and the approximate impact area, seeking to avoid misinterpretation of the launch as a potential nuclear strike due to the missile’s range class and profile.