Russia Hits Kyiv with a Missile Nobody Can Stop – and Ukraine Knew It Was Coming | DW News
Why It Matters
The attack highlights a growing challenge for air defenses: maneuverable hypersonic re-entry vehicles are harder to detect and intercept, raising escalation and deterrence risks and straining Ukrainian and allied missile-defense capabilities. Even if the weapon’s practical battlefield impact is limited, its potential for nuclear delivery and use as an intimidation tool has significant strategic and security implications.
Summary
Russian forces struck the Kyiv region with an Arashnik hypersonic multiple-reentry missile, filmed on security cameras in Bila Tserkva as individual re-entry vehicles slammed into targets. The strike was part of a large wave—about 600 drones and nearly 100 missiles—that damaged government offices, residential buildings, schools and media facilities; Kyiv had warned 24 hours earlier that an Arashnik launch was likely but its air defenses failed to stop it. Analysts note the weapon’s warheads may have been inert and that damage came from kinetic impact, and say the system is built for nuclear delivery though its battlefield effect so far appears limited. The Arashnik has been fired three times from the Kapustin Yar test range, underscoring Moscow’s use of the missile for political signaling as well as military pressure.
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