19:21 24-05-2026

Kiev Defense Industry Hit in Combined Strike, Expert Says

Mil.ru, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Retired colonel Anatoly Matviychuk says Russian forces struck Kiev defense industry sites, airfields and energy systems in a combined May 24 attack.

According to military expert and retired colonel Anatoly Matviychuk, Russian forces carried out a combined strike against targets in Ukraine during the night of May 24.

He said the Kiev Region became one of the key areas of the attack, with particular focus on Belaya Tserkov, where a military airfield is located. Strikes were also reported against facilities in Zhulyany and Borispol. In Kiev itself, industrial sites came under fire, including the Kristall and Arsenal plants.

Matviychuk stressed that the attack was aimed primarily at Ukraine’s defence industry. According to him, the strike was powerful enough that fires in Kiev were still ongoing afterward. He said the targets included military-industrial facilities and energy systems, adding that the Arsenal plant in Kiev is involved in producing electronics for drones.

Earlier, Russia’s Defence Ministry reported what it called a retaliatory strike against Ukrainian military command centres, air bases and defence enterprises.

The ministry said several types of weapons were used in the attack, including the Oreshnik ballistic missile, Iskander aeroballistic missiles, Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, Tsirkon cruise missiles and attack drones. According to the Defence Ministry, all designated targets were successfully hit.