The US and Britain have condemned Russia for firing a nuclear-capable Oreshnik ballistic missile at Ukraine. At an emergency meeting of the UN security council, Tammy Bruce, US deputy ambassador, called the Lviv strike a “dangerous and inexplicable escalation”. Britain’s acting UN ambassador, James Kariuki, called the attack “reckless”, adding that “it threatens regional and international security and carries significant risk of escalation and miscalculation”.
Russia claimed the Oreshnik targeted an aviation repair factory. Ukraine has not confirmed what was hit but said the missile struck during a wider attack using drones and other rockets. The rarely used, multiple warhead Oreshnik missile is thought to be in limited supply – Ukraine’s military and special forces claim to have destroyed at least one of them on the ground in Russia. Observers have rated the two Oreshnik strikes so far on Ukraine as largely political and symbolic, with dummy warheads probably used, and any damage caused by their sonic boom and physical impact rather than live explosives. Analysts have questioned whether the Oreshnik is accurate enough to deliver non-nuclear bombs, which have to be more closely targeted than nuclear warheads to be effective.
Russian forces launched attacks on Kyiv and Kharkiv early on Tuesday, killing at least four people in Kharkiv, according to its mayor, Igor Terekhov, and injuring another six. In the southern city of Odesa, residential buildings, a hospital and a kindergarten were damaged, with at least five people wounded in two waves of attacks, said Sergiy Lysak, the regional governor.
Kyiv on Monday buried medic Sergiy Smolyak, 56, who was killed in a drone attack as he rushed to rescue residents from a housing block that Russia struck minutes earlier in a massive attack on the Ukrainian capital on Friday. “He was very kind, always calm and even-tempered. He saved so many people,” said Ryta Dorosh, a nurse who worked with Smolyak before the war.
Russia has bombed two more civilian ships transporting food products in the Black Sea, according to Ukraine. “An enemy drone struck a Panamanian-flagged tanker that was waiting to enter port to load vegetable oil. Unfortunately, one crew member was wounded,” said Ukrainian regional development minister Oleksiy Kuleba. “There was also an attack on a ship flying the flag of San Marino, which was leaving the port with a cargo of corn ... This is further proof that Russia is deliberately attacking civilian ships, international trade and maritime safety,” he added. Odesa regional governor Oleg Kiper said the attacks happened around the Chornomorsk port on the southern Ukrainian coast.
Last year was the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since 2022, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has announced. Conflict-related violence in Ukraine killed 2,514 civilians and injured 12,142 in 2025, a 31% rise in the number of victims from 2024.
A US-linked investor group has won the rights to mine Ukraine’s Dobra lithium deposit, Kyiv has announced. The consortium, Dobra Lithium, is owned by TechMet and Rock Holdings. The New York Times has reported that Ronald S Lauder, a billionaire friend of Donald Trump, is among the investors. TechMet is backed by the US government, according to the US International Development Finance Corporation.
