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Rare Space Footage Captures Russian Kh-101 and Iskander Missile Strike on Ukraine

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A view of Kyiv at night during a Russian missile strike, captured from orbit by a camera aboard the International Space Station. (Source: AstronautiCAST / ISS footage)
A view of Kyiv at night during a Russian missile strike, captured from orbit by a camera aboard the International Space Station. (Source: AstronautiCAST / ISS footage)

A time-lapse video recorded from the International Space Station has captured a large-scale Russian missile attack on Kyiv, showing both incoming ballistic trajectories and Ukrainian air defense activity over the capital and surrounding areas.

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The footage was published by the YouTube channel AstronautiCAST, which released a compilation filmed from an onboard ISS camera during the night of December 26–27.

According to AstronautiCAST, the time-lapse shows the flight paths of ballistic missiles and visible air defense interceptions over Kyiv and the region.

The video captures multiple interception attempts as well as explosions consistent with missile impacts in Kyiv and near the Trypilska Thermal Power Plant. In the final seconds of the recording, two ballistic targets appear to be successfully intercepted.

According to Ukrainian authorities, Russia launched ten ballistic missiles—identified as Iskander-M and Kinzhal systems—alongside thirty cruise missiles, including Kh-101, Iskander-K, and Kh-22 types during the overnight attack.

The recording provides a rare orbital perspective on Russia’s ongoing missile campaign against Ukraine’s capital and energy infrastructure. Kyiv and critical facilities in the region have been repeatedly targeted in large-scale combined strikes involving both ballistic and cruise missiles since the start of the full-scale invasion.

Since late autumn, Russian forces have repeatedly combined ballistic and cruise missiles with drones in coordinated waves aimed at overwhelming air defenses and disrupting electricity and heating supply during the cold season.

The December 27 assault was described by Ukrainian officials as one of the largest winter attacks on Kyiv to date. In addition to residential damage and civilian casualties, authorities reported impacts on power and heating infrastructure.

On February 24, Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal and European leaders, including Ursula von der Leyen, visited a Kyiv CHP plant damaged by repeated Russian strikes. According to Shmyhal, the facility, which supplies heat to about 500,000 residents, has been hit 13 times since 2022, with recent attacks disrupting electricity and heating for hundreds of buildings.

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