Russia hits gas field near Lviv in Oreshnik ballistic missile strike in retaliation for alleged Ukrainian attack on Putin’s Valdai residence

Update: Russia’s Defense Ministry has confirmed that it attacked “critical facilities across Ukraine” using “long-range, high-precision land- and sea-based weaponry, including the ‘Oreshnik’ mobile ground-based intermediate-range missile system.” Moscow stated that the strikes were “in response to a terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime on the residence of the President of the Russian Federation in the Novgorod region — an action carried out on the night of December 29, 2025.” Ukraine has consistently denied that this attack ever occurred, and Russia’s evidence leaves much to be desired.

Shortly after Ukraine’s Air Force reported the threat of an intermediate-range ballistic missile launch from a Russian strategic nuclear testing site near the Caspian Sea, explosions rocked the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Friday morning, local time. Mayor Andriy Sadovyi confirmed the attack, and Regional Governor Maksym Kozytskyi identified the target as a critical infrastructure facility. According to local media reports, the intended targets were likely the Stryi gas field and gas storage facility. 

While the specific weapon used remains unconfirmed at the time of writing, early evidence points to an Oreshnik ballistic missile. This is the same nuclear-capable system Russia deployed against an aerospace factory in Dnipro in November 2024.

Ahead of Friday’s attack in Lviv, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine issued a security alert about a “potentially significant air attack that may occur at any time over the next several days.” American officials issued a similar warning in November 2024 ahead of the Oreshnik strike on Dnipro. According to nuclear arms control expert Pavel Podvig, Moscow appears to be notifying Washington of Oreshnik launches to fulfill its requirements under the 1988 Ballistic Missile Launch Notification Agreement.