May 24 Air Attack Exposes Putin’s Failures on the Battlefield

May 24, 2026May 24, 2026

There is not much point writing about the May 24 air attack for Ukrainians — we all saw and heard it ourselves. But for those watching from outside Ukraine, it is worth noting: this was one of the largest strikes by sheer volume of weapons used, and the most missile-heavy in a long time. As of now, 40 locations took hits — mostly residential buildings and commercial infrastructure. Kyiv residents already know exactly what hit where, and listing locations tells outsiders nothing. The capital’s death toll currently stands at two, but that number will likely rise, as rescue operations in residential buildings are still ongoing. Here is what the Air Force reported as of morning:

Of the total weapons used, 600 were drones of various types and 90 were missiles — also of various types. And not just any missiles: the full range the enemy uses against Ukraine, from the Oreshnik, Kinzhals, Zircons and other ballistic weapons to cruise missiles — Kh-101, Iskander-K, and Kalibr. Kyiv was the primary target, and the majority of everything launched headed straight for the capital. Monitoring channels give this picture, broken down by missiles and drones separately:

Interception worked as it should

As for interception — everything I personally witnessed worked as it should. The problem was the sheer number and variety of targets. And, let us say, this gives a clear hint about what configuration to use when heading toward Moscow. A mirror response in exactly this configuration would be the most fitting answer. The Air Force reported the following on missiles specifically: of 90 missiles of all types, 55 were shot down and 19 fell on their own with no clear landing point yet identified. So 74 missiles never reached their targets — but 16 did.

Of those 16 — some we simply have no means to intercept. That is true for the Oreshnik, which separates its warhead at altitudes our air defense cannot reach, and equally true for the Kinzhals and Zircons. None of our existing air defense systems were ever marketed by their manufacturers as capable of intercepting these targets — yet when our operators can physically reach these missiles, they most often do. Our specialists consistently squeeze more out of the air defense systems than the manufacturers ever intended.

Two Observations

The first one Kyiv residents and anyone closely following the strike locations can assess themselves. Just look at where the hits landed and what was used to land them. This is pure hysteria. Spending ammunition — which the Orcs¹ are finding increasingly hard to come by — in this way is something only people who desperately need to show something to a bloodthirsty midget would do. In the fifth year of the war, hitting residential buildings, shopping centers, and grocery stores is an act of desperation. Because it is already obvious that strikes like these cannot spread panic — we have all grown so accustomed to bombardment that they produce nothing but contempt and hatred for the enemy.

The second observation is no less interesting. Yesterday, all day and especially in the evening, something wild was happening in the information space. Someone was clearly trying to stoke panic, because we have seen far larger attacks since the full-scale invasion began — attacks with more weapons, attacks with more missiles flying simultaneously — yet I personally do not recall anything like the hysteria that flooded the internet yesterday. As Saint-Exupéry once wrote: “If the stars are lit, it means there is someone who needs it” — and if panic is being manufactured, someone is manufacturing it.

It is good that Ukrainians have developed such a level of fatalism that this no longer gets to us. But if I were running a security service, I would have already ordered a very fast trace of the distribution chains for exactly this kind of content — and shut it down as hard as possible.

An Axiom

There is a well-known axiom, long familiar to Ukrainians and to the international friends who have been following this site for years. But for anyone arriving here for the first time, it needs repeating: the worse things go for the Orcs at the front, the harder they will strike Ukrainian civilian cities.

This simply has to be understood and accepted. As a fact. As a given. Like freezing rain outside the window — it is cold. Like black ice underfoot — it is slippery.

From a military and economic standpoint, the ammunition spent on the May 24 air attack was wasted. Let me repeat that: from a military and economic standpoint, completely wasted. For us, every death and every wound is a tragedy. For the Kremlin piece of garbage, it is the goal. The goal is to terrorize civilians — because he cannot do anything else, does not know how, and never did.

Nothing will improve

Unfortunately, nothing will improve for civilians any time soon. Ukraine is a large and densely populated country, and the Orcs will keep up the terror — and the worse things go for them at the front, the harder they will hit civilians. Every Ukrainian is a target. Anyone can die at any second, at any point in Ukraine — regardless of where they serve, where they work, their social status, or their income. Everyone currently in Ukraine is a target for the Pootin regime. And the May 24 air attack is nothing more than a display of weakness and battlefield failure. That is what it is, and that is what it needs to be understood as — and withstood.

¹Orcs – a common term for Russians who support or participate in the armed aggression against Ukraine. Dehumanizing? Yes. Accurate? Also yes.