DISINFO: Russia hit a target worthy of the Oreshnik missile in Ukraine
SUMMARY
There’s at least one strike in the vicinity of Kyiv that has the visual characteristics of an Oreshnik missile. There’s a reason to believe that the Oreshnik didn’t strike the center of Kiev but rather hit a town outside of Kyiv that has a military airfield that has been of some interest to the Russian forces in the past. There was something going on there that was worthy of an Oreshnik strike.
RESPONSE
The claim is unsubstantiated, aimed to whitewash one of the worst Russian air attacks in Ukraine throughout the war on 24 May 2026 -which hit multiple civilian targets in Kyiv and other cities- by framing it as a strictly military attack. It was the third time that Russia launched an Oreshnik missile -a nuclear-capable projectile- against Ukraine, a move widely interpreted as an attempt to intimidate and coerce Ukrainians and its allies.
The Oreshnik missile targeted the city of Bila Tservka. The Kyiv Post published a detailed technical account of the attack that does not mention any impact on military facilities or troops.According to an open source analysis validated by Reuters, the Oreshnik's warhead appeared to split into 36 submunitions and hit multiple sites. Footageof the attack taken from differentangles, as well as of its aftermath, does not show military targets on the ground but only buildings and garages.
Russian attacks against non-combatants and civilian infrastructure have been a constant throughout the invasion, despite non-credible denials by Russian officials and pro-Kremlin disinformation. Since 2022, Russia has attacked civilian targets multiple times, including the city theatre in Mariupol, residential buildings, schools and energy facilities. On 05 March 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against two Russian top officials considered responsible for “missile strikes carried out by the forces under their command against the Ukrainian electric infrastructure" between October 2022 and March 2023, which are considered as war crimes.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Russia targeted Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries in Sumy, that Russian missile strike on Kryvyi Rih only hurt Ukrainian army and NATO officers, that Russia only attacks military facilities in Ukraine, that Ukraine violates international humanitarian law while Russia respects it, that Russia wages war humanely and does not hit civilians, or that Russian are liberators and a peace-making people.