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Russia Says It Used New Oreshnik Ballistic Missile against Ukraine

Smoke rises from an apartment building that was hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine January 9, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
Smoke rises from an apartment building that was hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine January 9, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
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Russia Says It Used New Oreshnik Ballistic Missile against Ukraine

Smoke rises from an apartment building that was hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine January 9, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
Smoke rises from an apartment building that was hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine January 9, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

Russia said Friday it has used the new Oreshnik ballistic missile along with other weapons in a massive strike on Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials said four people were killed and at least 22 wounded in the capital overnight. Russia didn’t say where Oreshnik hit, but Russian media and military bloggers said it targeted a huge underground natural gas storage in Ukraine’s western Lviv region, The Associated Press said.

Russia's Defense Ministry said the attack was a retaliation to what Moscow said was a Ukrainian drone strike on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence last month. Ukraine and US President Donald Trump have rejected the Russian claim of the attack on Putin’s residence.

Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadoviy said that Russia struck critical infrastructure with a ballistic missile, but didn't give details. He said the missile traveled at a speed of 13,000 kilometers (more than 8,000 miles) per hour, and that the specific type of rocket was being investigated.

Russia first tested the Oreshnik — Russian for hazelnut tree — to strike a Ukrainian factory in November 2024. Putin has bragged that Oreshnik’s multiple warheads plunge at speeds of up to Mach 10 and can’t be intercepted, and that several of them used in a conventional strike could be as devastating as a nuclear attack. Oreshnik can also carry nuclear weapons.

The Russian leader has warned the West that Russia could use the Oreshnik next against allies of Kyiv that allowed it to strike inside Russia with their longer-range missiles.

After the overnight strike on Ukraine's capital, those killed included an emergency medical aid worker, said Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko. Five rescue workers sustained injuries while responding to the site of ongoing attacks, said Ukraine's security service.

Several districts in Kyiv were hit in the attack, said Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko. In the Desnyanskyi district a drone crashed onto the roof of a multi-story building. At another address in the same district the first two floors of a residential building were damaged.

In Dnipro district, parts of a drone damaged a multistory building and a fire broke out.

Running water and electricity were disrupted in parts of the capital as a result of the attack, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

The attack took place just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alerted the nation about Russia’s intentions for a large-scale offensive. He said that Russia aimed to take advantage of the frigid weather in the capital, making roads and streets perilously icy.

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World

US Braces for Potential Iranian Retaliatory Operations within its Borders

US President Donald Trump speaks with the media as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (R) and special envoy Steve Witkoff (C) look on aboard Air Force One during a flight from Dover, Delaware, to Miami, Florida, on March 7, 2026. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks with the media as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (R) and special envoy Steve Witkoff (C) look on aboard Air Force One during a flight from Dover, Delaware, to Miami, Florida, on March 7, 2026. (AFP)
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US Braces for Potential Iranian Retaliatory Operations within its Borders

US President Donald Trump speaks with the media as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (R) and special envoy Steve Witkoff (C) look on aboard Air Force One during a flight from Dover, Delaware, to Miami, Florida, on March 7, 2026. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks with the media as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (R) and special envoy Steve Witkoff (C) look on aboard Air Force One during a flight from Dover, Delaware, to Miami, Florida, on March 7, 2026. (AFP)

Fears have grown in the US that Tehran could activate “sleeper cells” or carry out unconventional retaliatory attacks on American soil as Washington and Tel Aviv continue their war against Iran.

President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that his administration knows where the Iranian sleeper cells are and is monitoring all of their members. The statement appeared aimed both at reassuring the public and sending a warning to Iran.

Still, the tone contrasts with more cautious assessments from US security agencies, which say the threat remains potential rather than imminent or specific.

Security agencies on alert

Trump’s remarks followed earlier comments in which he said the situation was “under control” and that authorities were “watching everyone” of the suspected sleeper cells.

While the president sought to link the issue to immigration, security agencies have adopted a more measured approach. A US intelligence assessment issued after the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned that Iran and its proxies could resort to selective attacks inside the United States, though large-scale assaults are considered less likely.

Officials see a higher probability of cyberattacks or smaller operations carried out by limited networks or sympathetic individuals.

The Department of Homeland Security has similarly assessed that Iran and its proxies could pose a threat through targeted attacks inside the United States.

Against that backdrop, Kash Patel, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced on Feb. 28 that the bureau had placed its counterterrorism and intelligence teams on “maximum alert.”

The move included mobilizing additional security resources and emphasizing that the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces nationwide are working around the clock to detect and disrupt potential threats. Such measures typically involve heightened surveillance of high-priority suspects, expanded use of confidential sources, reviews of technical intelligence tools and closer coordination between federal and local authorities.

Drone concerns in California

One development that drew attention in recent days was the disclosure of a confidential FBI bulletin circulated through the Los Angeles Joint Regional Intelligence Center before the outbreak of the war.

The notice warned that Iran might attempt to retaliate for US attacks by launching drones from ships at sea targeting California.

According to a security bulletin reviewed by Reuters, the FBI distributed the warning last month to law enforcement agencies, citing information collected in late February suggesting Iran could plan a surprise drone attack launched from a vessel offshore if Washington carried out strikes against it.

The bulletin, however, contained no specific information on timing or targets and described the scenario more as a potential ambition than a confirmed operational plan. It also said no further details were available regarding how such an attack might be carried out or who might be involved.

Details of the bulletin emerged publicly as the war, which began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, entered its twelfth day.

Vigilance but no imminent threat

California authorities sought to balance caution with reassurance. Governor Gavin Newsom said the state was aware of the warning and was coordinating closely with federal and local agencies while preparing for worst-case scenarios. He stressed that no credible or imminent threats had been identified.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie delivered similar messages, saying no specific threat had been detected but that coordination with federal authorities was ongoing.

Local police departments across the state said they had been informed of a higher risk environment and urged residents to report suspicious activity.

Past incidents

Previous cases have heightened US concerns. In July 2021, the Justice Department revealed a plot linked to an Iranian intelligence network to kidnap journalist and activist Masih Alinejad from New York and forcibly take her to Iran.

In March 2025, a federal court convicted two leaders of an Eastern European organized crime network in a murder-for-hire scheme targeting Alinejad on behalf of actors linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.

They were sentenced in October that year to 25 years in prison each. Another defendant involved in surveilling Alinejad and planning her killing in New York was sentenced in January 2026 to 15 years in prison.

World

Turkish-Owned Ship Allowed to Pass Through Strait of Hormuz, Minister Says

A man walks along the shore as oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz, seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP)
A man walks along the shore as oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz, seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP)
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Turkish-Owned Ship Allowed to Pass Through Strait of Hormuz, Minister Says

A man walks along the shore as oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz, seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP)
A man walks along the shore as oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz, seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP)

A Turkish-owned ship that had been waiting near Iran was allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz after authorities received permission from Tehran, Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir ‌Uraloglu was reported ‌as saying by ‌local ⁠media.

Ankara was continuing ⁠contacts with Iranian officials regarding the situation of the remaining 14 Turkish-owned vessels there, Uraloglu told reporters ⁠late on Thursday, ‌news website ‌Haberturk said.

"Fifteen ships (with Turkish ‌owners) were there; we ‌obtained permission from the Iranian authorities for one of them, which had used ‌an Iranian port, and it passed," Uraloglu ⁠was ⁠quoted as saying.

The US-Israeli war on Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, leaving tankers and other ships stranded, which has stoked concerns about global energy supply.

World

US Wants to 'Divide Europe', EU's Kallas Tells FT

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers and representatives of the Gulf Cooperation Council at the European Council building in Brussels, Belgium, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers and representatives of the Gulf Cooperation Council at the European Council building in Brussels, Belgium, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
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US Wants to 'Divide Europe', EU's Kallas Tells FT

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers and representatives of the Gulf Cooperation Council at the European Council building in Brussels, Belgium, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers and representatives of the Gulf Cooperation Council at the European Council building in Brussels, Belgium, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the US wants to "divide Europe" and doesn't "like the European Union" in an interview published by the Financial Times on Friday, after more than a year of turmoil in transatlantic relations.

"What I think is actually important for everybody to understand is that the US has been very clear that they ‌want to divide ‌Europe. They don't like the ‌European ⁠Union," Kallas told the ⁠FT.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly targeted the European Union in his second term, imposing tariffs on member countries and others and talking about annexing Greenland - a move that could effectively end the NATO alliance.

This week, Trump's administration ⁠launched trade investigations into the EU and ‌other countries, including ‌China, India, Japan, South Korea and Mexico, over what ‌it said were unfair trade practices. Under the ‌investigation, the countries could face new tariffs by this summer, after the US Supreme Court tore down much of Trump's tariff program last month.

Kallas said ‌the United States' approach to the EU echoed tactics used by the bloc's ⁠adversaries, ⁠according to the FT.

EU countries should not be looking to deal with Trump bilaterally, she said, and instead should deal with him together, "because we are equal powers when we are together," the FT reported.

On defense, however, Kallas said the bloc needed "to buy from America because we don't have the assets or the possibilities or the capabilities that we need," adding that Europe needed to invest in its own defense industry.