Russia Oreshnik Missile Kyiv Attack May 2026: 600 Drones, 90 Missiles, Defense Stocks React

# Russia Oreshnik Missile Kyiv Attack May 2026: 600 Drones, 90 Missiles, Defense Stocks React

> **Quick answer:** Russia struck Kyiv and surrounding regions on May 24-25, 2026, in the largest single attack of the entire Ukraine war — 600 drones and 90 missiles, including the Oreshnik, a nuclear-capable hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile traveling at Mach 10+. At least 4 were killed, 80+ wounded. Defense stocks (LMT, NOC, RTX, GD) moved higher. US markets are closed for Memorial Day but futures open Tuesday morning. European equities face headwinds at Monday's open.

Russia launched the Ukraine war's largest coordinated aerial attack in the early hours of May 25, 2026, deploying 600 strike drones and 90 missiles — including the Oreshnik, a nuclear-capable hypersonic ballistic missile that European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called "reckless nuclear brinkmanship." What markets do next, and what this means for your portfolio, depends on understanding both the weapon and the strategic calculus behind its use.

## What Happened: The Largest Single Attack of the War

Ukraine's Air Force confirmed the unprecedented scale shortly before dawn: 600 Shahed-type strike drones and 90 missiles launched simultaneously. Ukrainian air defenses destroyed or jammed 549 drones and 55 of the missiles. Nineteen additional missiles failed to reach their targets. That still left a significant number of ordnance breaching defenses in the largest coordinated aerial assault since Russia's February 2022 invasion.

The primary strike zones included: