Scary hypersonic missile strike.
While the world focuses on Venezuela, Iran and Greenland, the Russia-Ukraine war proceeds unabated, but in the last few days the front has been relatively frozen, with few Russian advances.
But yesterday, the fearsome Russian Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile ‘Oreshnik’ (‘Hazel’) was launched from the Kapustin Yar range toward Lvov, right on the Polish (and NATO) border.
Watch: first Oreshnik attack in Dnipro, in November 2024:
Preliminary reports say russian terrorists used an Oreshnik missile to strike the Stryi gas field and gas storage facilities in Lviv region.
Oreshnik strike on Dnipro, 21.11.24 pic.twitter.com/CpAAieu0YT
— UAVoyager (@NAFOvoyager) January 8, 2026
The multi-warhead missile destroyed Europe’s largest underground gas storage facility, the Bilche-Volytsko-Uherske in Stryi.
The capacity of this facility accounted for over 50% of all Ukrainian gas storage.
The “Oreshnik” flew to Lviv in 10–15 minutes — traveling 1,800 km at a speed of over 6 thousand miles per hour.
Russian “Oreshnik” intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile, has just struck a target in Ukraines Western region of Lvov. pic.twitter.com/bgPT16itSi
— Chay Bowes (@BowesChay) January 8, 2026
Simplicius at Substack:
“The timing obviously suggests that this is a “retaliation” attack meant to send a strong message to the West. Retaliation for what, precisely? Likely for several of the recent provocations and escalations together: the attempted drone attack on Putin’s dacha, the US seizure of an allegedly-‘Russian’ oil tanker, and don’t forget — the European summit’s signing of commitments to deploy both troops and military bases on Ukrainian soil in the event of a ceasefire. Russia had just warned they would become legitimate targets, and a strategically placed Oreshnik strike in western Ukraine could certainly be construed as a message for that.
[…] The reason is, Lvov is out of range of Iskanders and Geran drones and Kaliber missiles do not have the penetrative ‘bunker-buster’ capabilities to pierce deep underground storage sites. The Oreshnik—by virtue of its Mach ~10+ kinetic inertia—just happens to be the only weapon capable of penetrating a deep underground site at that long range of a distance in western Ukraine, at least theoretically speaking.”
BREAKING:
Another horrific video of “Oreshnik” hitting Lvov, Ukraine tonight pic.twitter.com/GFAD3Q1bM7
— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) January 8, 2026
The US knew in advance of the attack, since the American Kiev embassy issued a call earlier warning of a ‘potentially significant air attack’.
JUST IN – U.S. embassy in Kyiv issues a security alert warning of “a potentially significant air attack that may occur at any time over the next several days.” pic.twitter.com/amQ5s6uf7k
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) January 8, 2026
The strike was described by Russians as a retaliation for the attempted attack on Vladimir Putin’s residence in late December.
Reuters reported:
“The Russian military said it had fired its hypersonic Oreshnik missile at a target in Ukraine in response to what it described as an attempted Ukrainian drone strike on one of President Vladimir Putin’s residences last month, which Kyiv has denied.
It is the second time that Russia has used the intermediate-range Oreshnik, a missile which President Vladimir Putin has boasted is impossible to intercept because of its reported velocity of more than 10 times the speed of sound.”
Another angle of the Oreshnik IRBM strike on Lvov.
Mach 15+ MIRV warheads (conventional), unstoppable by any Air Defence system. https://t.co/5kl3hlDQtx pic.twitter.com/W80ItaUlZs
— Spetsnaℤ 007 (@Alex_Oloyede2) January 8, 2026
“The missile is capable of carrying nuclear warheads, although there was no suggestion that the one used in the overnight attack had been fitted with them.”
The sky in Lviv is glowing different colors following the Russian Oreshnik strike. pic.twitter.com/NrcvDCJ04m
— Heyman_101 (@SU_57R) January 9, 2026
Read more:
THE HAZEL EFFECT: Putin Says No Air System Can Intercept Russia’s New Hypersonic Ballistic Missile Oreshnik, That ‘When Used in Massive Scale Is Equivalent to a Strategic Nuke’
The post SUPERSONIC RETALIATION: Russia Unleashes New Oreshnik Missile to Strike Europe’s Largest Gas Storage Facility in Ukraine’s Lvov, Near the Polish Border (VIDEOS) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.