Attack on Kyiv on May 24, 2026 / Photo: Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine
On the night of May 24, Russia launched a medium-range ballistic missile, Oreshnik, at Ukraine. The Russians struck it without using a nuclear warhead. The strike occurred in the area of Bila Tserkva. This weapon does not demonstrate accuracy.
This was explained in an interview with Channel 24 by Roman Svitan, a reserve colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, an instructor pilot, and a military expert, emphasizing that the greatest danger of “Oreshnik” lies when it assumes the presence of a “core”.
Massive shelling of Ukraine: Russia aimed at one point
The military expert does not rule out that the Russian “Oreshnik” could have deviated from the intended target. He specified that during the impact, kinetic energy is converted into thermal energy, an explosion occurs, but it is not as powerful as, for example, in the case of an Iskander strike.
Russia wants to show off not so much to the Europeans as to its own Russians. It had to show off, because it is in a difficult situation now, especially after Tuapse. Therefore, it is trying to create such a background within the country thanks to these “Oreshniks”,
– says Svitan.
Features of the combined strike on Ukraine: watch the video
Today, he said, it is worth focusing not so much on “Oreshnik” as on the fact that the Russian attack was focused on one location – the capital. The enemy directed more than 600 UAVs at Kyiv and almost did not use simulator drones.
“The Russians targeted almost all the strike drones. There is already a map showing where everything was flying from and where. Aeroballistics went to the Khmelnytskyi region, probably trying to reach infrastructure facilities, airfields. They used Iskanders, Calibers, and the X-101 was in question. That is, they practiced a massive attack on one point, on one area,” Svitan said.
The reserve colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine noted that the enemy sought to break the saturation factor of Kyiv's air defense. According to him, the enemy managed to do this. He added that this was possible due to the number of means of destruction they used.
The shelling of Kyiv: what weapons did Russia use?
As a reminder, the Air Force reported that during the combined strike on Ukraine, Russia, choosing Kyiv as the main target, used 690 air attack vehicles: 90 missiles and 600 drones. Among the drones used, the following types were recorded: “Shahed”, “Gerbera”, “Italmas”, and “Banderol” loitering munitions. The Russians also targeted “Oreshnik”, 2 “Kinzhal” aeroballistic missiles, 3 “Zirkon” anti-ship missiles, 30 “Iskander-M” ballistic missiles, and more than 50 Kh-101/Iskander-K/Caliber cruise missiles.
Yuriy Ignat, head of the communications department of the Ukrainian Air Force, confirmed that Russia synchronized the missile launches with the aim of overwhelming Ukrainian air defenses. He added that the occupiers launched missiles from different directions in such a way that these weapons entered Ukrainian airspace at almost the same time.