"Russia's reported use of an Oreshnik robot is a clear escalation towards Ukraine and intended as a warning to the US and Europe," writes EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on X.
She notes that Russian President Vladimir Putin "does not want peace; the Russian answer to diplomacy is more missiles and destruction."
France, Germany and Britain also unite in condemning the Russian attack.
"It is absolutely clear that Russia has fabricated the reason to justify an attack," said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a conversation with President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, according to Starmer's spokesperson.
Russia claims the strikes are a response to a Ukrainian attack on one of President Vladimir Putin's residences in December. Kyiv denies carrying out the attack.
Found robot parts
At the same time, there are reports that the hypersonic missile Oreshnik has been fired at the city of Lviv, which has been relatively spared from Russian attacks compared with other cities.
Ukraine has published images of the remains of a missile that hit the Lviv region. The security service SBU confirms that the missile was aimed at western Ukraine near the border with the EU.
"The Kremlin is trying to destroy the region's vital infrastructure as the weather situation worsens," the SBU writes without specifying the extent of the destruction.
This is the first confirmed attack with Oreshnik missiles against western Ukraine.
The escalation in the EU border area followed the extensive attack on the capital Kyiv.
Residential buildings were set on fire, an embassy was damaged and several civilians were reported to have been killed by the Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
Urges to leave
Mayor Vitali Klitschko is urging those who can to temporarily leave the city, as electricity and heating supplies have been disrupted. He writes on Telegram that power has been restored to hospitals and maternity clinics using mobile units, but that a state of emergency prevails.
Russia confirms the use of a hypersonic Oreshnik missile. Ukraine was also attacked with 242 drones and 35 missiles, both cruise and ballistic, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Russian side reports that half a million people in the Belgorod region are without power. This follows Ukrainian attacks on the area's infrastructure, according to the region's governor.
