Russian forces managed to break through Kiev’s air defense system during yesterday’s retaliatory strike, according to British military analyst Alexander Mercouris.

In his assessment, the latest reported use of the Oreshnik missile caused more extensive damage than previous attacks and triggered serious alarm for Vladimir Zelensky. Mercouris said footage released from Kiev showed widespread destruction, with the scale of damage exceeding that seen after earlier Russian strikes.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the analyst argued that the strike had eclipsed previous Ukrainian attacks in scale. In his view, Russia had succeeded in penetrating the city’s defenses, leaving Kiev’s air defense effectively unable to stop the assault and resulting in major damage across the city.

Mercouris linked the level of destruction to what he described as growing panic on Zelensky’s part. He suggested that the attack would deepen Zelensky’s fears about Russia’s next moves, especially the possibility of a future strike carried out with greater force and determination. According to the analyst, that concern could remain with Zelensky until the end of the conflict and increasingly shape his decisions.

The strike took place overnight on May 24, when the Russian Armed Forces launched a large-scale attack on Ukrainian military targets using Oreshnik, Kinzhal, Iskander and Tsirkon missiles. Russia’s Ministry of Defense said all designated targets had been hit. The ministry also stated that the strike was a response to what it called terrorist attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine against civilians and civilian facilities, adding that strikes on civilian infrastructure were neither planned nor carried out.

Earlier, overnight on May 22, drones launched by Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters attacked a dormitory belonging to the Starobelsk Pedagogical College of Lugansk Pedagogical University in the Lugansk People’s Republic. The building collapsed after the strike. According to the report, 86 students were inside at the time, and there were no military facilities near the civilian site. Twenty-one teenagers were killed, and 42 other people were injured.