Russia launched one of its largest aerial assaults of the war against Kyiv on May 24, firing two Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missiles alongside hundreds of drones and cruise missiles in what appeared to be retaliation for Ukraine’s large-scale strike on Moscow a week earlier.

The overnight barrage struck residential districts, schools, markets and industrial facilities across the Ukrainian capital, according to local authorities and residents, who described it as one of the heaviest attacks since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022.

“In the morning, Kyiv lies shrouded in thick smoke. People are counting the dead and wounded. The fifth year of this unrelenting war has left the country exhausted, steadily draining it of its human resources,” Iulia Mendel, former presidential press spokesperson, said in a social media post. “Year after year, it becomes clearer that endless hope and repeated promises end only in another terrible morning like this.”

Russian forces launched up to 900 drones and missiles during the assault, according to Ukrainian estimates. The use of the Oreshnik missile system marked only the second confirmed deployment of the weapon in the conflict.

The Oreshnik, known as the RS-26 Rubezh, is a nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of striking targets across Europe. Travelling on a suborbital trajectory at speeds of up to Mach 11 during descent, the missile can reportedly deploy up to six multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle warheads from a mobile launcher.

Its deployment was widely interpreted as a signal not only to Ukraine but also to European governments increasing military support for Kyiv as Washington reduces its direct role in arming Ukraine.

The Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty had prohibited such systems before the US withdrew from the agreement in 2019. Russia nevertheless notified Washington before launching the missiles under the 1988 ballistic missile notification agreement.

“Given the patterns in this war, we should interpret these alerts as a signal that Russia is preparing its latest Oreshnik missile strike and just satisfied the requirements of the 1988 ballistic missile notification agreement by alerting the US,” Kevin Rothrock, editor at Meduza, said in a social media post.

NASA satellite data indicated large fires at Kyiv’s Artem Defence Plant following the strikes. The facility manufactures air-to-air missiles, anti-tank guided missiles and aircraft equipment.

Unconfirmed reports circulated that Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, may have been killed during the attacks. Neither Kyiv nor Moscow commented on the claims.

Ukraine meanwhile continued counter strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, targeting the Vtorovo oil pumping station in Vladimir Oblast, which supplies fuel to the Moscow region, among other targets. The latest exchange followed a Ukrainian strike on a college dormitory in Starobelsk, after which President Vladimir Putin warned that Russia’s response would be “severe.”