After rejecting the latest post-war peacekeeping plan, Russia hit Ukraine with its hypersonic Oreshnik missile, as part of a massive overnight attack on January 8/9, setting apartment blocks ablaze and killing at least four people in the capital, Kyiv.
Ukraine and its Western European allies—scrambling to bring an end to the war as it approaches the four-year mark—agreed this week that Europe would deploy troops after any ceasefire. Moscow has repeatedly rejected the notion of any Western forces stationed in Ukraine.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that such troops would be considered legitimate military targets, branding Ukraine and its U.S. and European allies an “axis of war.”
Russia’s defence ministry said the overnight barrage included an Oreshnik hypersonic missile targeting “strategic facilities,” while Ukrainian authorities reported strikes on infrastructure near Lviv and widespread damage in Kyiv.
