Published on Monday, May 25, 2026
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Costa Rica on Sunday condemned Russia’s latest military offensive against Ukraine, which included the use of a hypersonic missile during a large-scale attack on the capital, Kyiv, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Foreign Minister Manuel Tovar said on social media that Costa Rica “strongly condemns Russia’s brutal attack on Ukraine with the Oreshnik missile system and rejects all actions against the Ukrainian civilian population and its territorial integrity.”

Russia used its hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile for the third time in the war, Ukrainian authorities said, as part of a massive assault on Kyiv and surrounding areas that killed at least four people and injured about 100 others.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Russia struck the city of Bila Tserkva, in the Kyiv region, with a missile. He described the offensive as a heavy assault that damaged a water supply facility, destroyed a market and hit dozens of residential buildings and several schools.

“They are genuinely deranged,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.

In a separate post on X social media, Zelenskyy said approximately 100 people were injured nationwide and four people were killed in the attack, which he said targeted Kyiv most heavily.

Zelenskyy said the Russian assault involved about 600 drones and 90 missiles of various types, including 36 ballistic missiles.

“Unfortunately, not all of the ballistic missiles were intercepted, the largest number of hits was in Kyiv. Kyiv was the primary target of this Russian attack,” Zelenskyy wrote. “It is important that this does not pass without consequences for Russia.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed the use of the Oreshnik missile, which is capable of carrying either nuclear or conventional warheads, marking the third reported use of the weapon in the conflict.

According to Russian state news agencies, the ministry said Russian forces carried out strikes on Ukrainian military command facilities, airbases and other military targets using Oreshnik, Iskander, Kinzhal and Zircon missiles.

The ministry said the attacks were retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on “civilian facilities on Russian territory.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” against Ukraine in Feb. 2022, launching the invasion that drew widespread international condemnation. Since then, many countries have imposed sanctions on Russia and provided humanitarian and military assistance to Ukraine.

The war has resulted in an estimated 400,000 to 1.5 million casualties, including those killed and wounded, between February 2022 and November 2025, according to conflict-related casualty data compiled by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

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