Russia Launched Two Oreshnik Missiles on May 24, First Fell Near Donetsk

During a massive shelling on the night of May 24, Russia launched two Oreshnik (Kedr) medium-range ballistic missiles at once. However, the first launch failed, and the missile likely struck a suburb of Donetsk.

YeRadar reported this news.

According to the monitoring channel, the second missile struck the temporarily occupied territory near Avdiivka or Yasynuvata, in the suburbs of Donetsk.

This information is confirmed by the CyberBoroshno OSINT community which analyzed webcam footage that captured the deployment of combat units. Researchers concluded that the footage shows the unfinished Rose Park shopping mall in Donetsk.

The camera itself is pointed toward the north/northwest, specifically toward the towns of Avdiivka, Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Izium, Vovchansk, and Belgorod. It is impossible to determine exactly where the strike occurred.

The first strike occurred around 1:00 a.m., approximately 15-20 minutes before the strike on Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region.

Strike by Oreshnik missiles on Bila Tserkva

According to military journalist Serhiy Misyura of Army TV, six submunitions struck a garage cooperative and the surrounding area, destroying, according to local residents, eight garages. Another six submunitions fell on the grounds of an abandoned factory nearby. The rest of the impact sites could not be located.

According to him, one of the munitions struck the side of the road, creating a crater approximately 2 meters in diameter and 60 centimeters deep. Even taking into account the well-compacted soil at the impact site, this indicates the combat unit’s rather limited capabilities.

It is known that the Oreshnik does not have a system of individual separation units, an element of a ballistic missile’s warhead that separates from the final stage, carries several warheads, and ensures their individual separation and guidance along predetermined trajectories.

The warheads themselves serve as carriers for cassettes containing combat elements. In total, the missile can carry six warheads, each containing six cassette elements — up to 36 units in total.

According to information from the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, as of the end of January 2026, Russia had 3-4 medium-range ballistic missiles of the Oreshnik system in service.

In 2026, the Russians planned to launch serial production of these missiles and manufacture at least five units per year. It is currently unknown whether the destruction of the Votkinsk Plant by FP-5 Flamingo missiles in February 2026 affected these plans. This is one of Russia’s key facilities for the production of solid-fuel ballistic missiles.