Name: How is Ukraine defend itself against ballistic missiles like the Oreshnik? | DW News
Uploaded: 2026-01-10T17:09:12.000Z
Duration: 10 min 8 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

We begin with Russia's most advanced weapon of war and its latest target.

Russia launched a barrage of aerial attacks last night all across Ukraine.

There were hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles.

There was also the Russian military's new hypersonic Oreshnik missile used for only the second time since the invasion of Ukraine began almost four years ago.

Now that is according to Russian state TV.

Ukrainian officials say at least four people were killed and 25 wounded in Kyiv.

The attack knocked out power and damaged at least least 20 residential buildings in the capital.

Ukraine's security service said it identified debris from a Russian or Russian missile in the western city of Lviv.

DW's Rebecca Ritters, she is in Kiev for us tonight.

Rebecca, tell us about last night's attack in Kiev.

Yeah, it was another incredibly long, loud and terrifying night here in the capital for residents of Kiev after what has been a relatively, and

I use that term very decidedly because of course, relative is a term in this, in this context, relatively quiet start to the year.

We haven't seen an attack like this for a couple of weeks at least.

And this was one of the biggest in recent times.

Of course, you talk about all those shahed drones being pummeled here and of course cruise and ballistic missiles as well.

We were at one of the attack sites where a shahed drone hit and two people were killed.

It was incredible to see the emergency services there working under such terrible conditions.

I mean, the weather conditions alone are making it ever more difficult for people to kind of get to get in and help and try and help.

There's thick snow cover and it's incredibly cold, Brent sub zero temperatures, especially at night.

Four people, as you said, died in the capital.

Another one was a medic and they died in what was known as a double tap attack where Ukraine attack and then attack again once the medics arrive.

So of course an incredibly horrible night here.

And as you mentioned, you know, at a time where we're talking about sub zero temperatures, you've got talking about power, water and heating cut in many homes across the city and indeed across the country.

I know of course, those temperatures we're seeing across Europe.

But you know, people across Europe have electricity, have heating, have water.

If you think about those people that might be near strike sites and also don't have windows, it's an incredibly, incredibly tense time.

I know that Russia fired its hypersonic missile, the Reshnik, overnight.

We understand it was fired at A target near the border with NATO member Poland, near the western city of Lviv.

Yeah, as you say, this was this Aristnic missile hit very, very much west in the western part of the country, near Poland.

The images of the hit, it is very incredible.

Huge impact that could be felt right across that region and even in neighboring regions, people said they could feel that impact.

It's really incredible that so far we've heard no reported deaths from the impact.

But some infrastructure hits, terrible infrastructure hit there.

This was claimed by the Russian Ministry of Defense as a retaliation for what is largely thought as a false flag attack, that the Russians accused Ukraine of sending around 90 drones to attack one of President Putin's estates.

That has been flatly denied by the Ukrainians.

And also Washington agreeing, saying that no such attack happened.

But the Ministry of Defense in Russia is saying that that attack in western Ukraine was in retaliation.

You've got commentators saying that in fact it's in retaliation to potential boots, European boots on the ground, if there were to be a ceasefire here in Ukraine.

So some differing angles, but definitely, you know, a warning sign.

As you mentioned, it's only the second time that this Arashnik has been used in this war.

The first time was last November in Dnipro and there were casualties and they were deaths from that attack.

So it's a really, really serious missile.

And I should add to that it is capable to carry a nuclear warhead.

Neither times that it's been used so far was it carrying such a warhead.

But definitely a warning sign from Russia.

Yeah, a warning sign in the dead of winter.

On top of that, Rebecca Ritter's force in Kiev tonight.

All right, let's bring in military analyst Marina Moreau now from King's College London for more on last night's attack.

Tell us a little bit more about the Reshnik ballistic missile that was fired at the western Lviv region in Ukraine and what kind of damage can it do?

Well, we have seen the first use of a reshnik back in November 24th against Uzhmash.

And it's a hypersonic ballistic missile which is classified as an intermediate range missile.

In short, what is interesting about this missile, this is something that the Soviets were working on and later the Russians with their Pioneer and later Ruberg and Yaris missiles.

Basically, it has hypersonic speeds during the boost phase.

So it places during the boost phase of the payload on the ballistic trajectory.

And in space, it has a technology called multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle.

So essentially, the body of this missile would be releasing warheads from space.

And according to reports, Reshnik has six warheads.

So the problem is you have one missile, but you have six warheads.

And reportedly, each of these six warheads also can have subordinates, up to six subordinates.

So you launch one missile and you can hit up to 36 targets.

Russian President Putin, he has claimed that the Ereshnik has a destructive power similar to that of a nuclear weapon, even when armed with a conventional warhead.

Well, I don't know about the kind of warheads that it can carry, but

certainly it can carry nuclear warheads, which is, of course, worrying.

If you think of even if one single missile is capable of striking six targets, that can do a lot of damage.

And of course, the Ukrainian side, for instance, talks about dummy warheads, but

even they can, because of kinetic energy, create enough damage, because, again, we're talking about one missile being capable of striking six targets almost simultaneously, which are widely dispersed, and

therefore the areas that it can cover is very large.

Russia says that this missile was launched in retaliation against the alleged Ukrainian drone attack on Vladimir Putin's residence.

Well, I think it's a confluence of factors here, because on the one hand, we have the alleged attack on Putin's residence.

On the other hand, we have Russia losing its power in Venezuela and of course, the seizure of an oil tanker sailing under Russian flag.

To the NATO border, of course it is a message not just to Ukraine, because possibly whatever infrastructure has been struck.

Ukrainian side didn't specify what it was.

Some say it was a gas storage, underground gas storage, as is talk about the drone factory.

Either way, I don't think that Reshnik was needed to strike the target.

And certainly this is a message not just to Ukraine, but

it's a message to the United States and of course, to NATO countries, to Europe, European NATO countries which are considering deploying troops to Ukraine.

So it had a strategic and informational purpose, more than a military purpose, in my view.

And let me ask you, before we run out of time, how, if at all, how can Ukraine defend itself against ballistic missiles such as the Russian?

And the problem of defending against such missile, it has three phases.

So it has a boost phase, which is very short, and it travels at hypersonic speeds.

Intercepting the missile before it gets outside the atmosphere is very unlikely.

Plus, you would have to know the launch site, intercepting it in space.

Again, not something you would have to strike it essentially in space.

The Star wars the post boost bus, before it releases the warheads.

But you have to know when it releases the warheads.

And in the terminal phase, you have six targets.

So even if you intercept two of the six warheads, the strike is still successful.