00:00Ukraine threatens retaliation as Moscow residents fear strikes following deadly Russian barrage.
00:06Kiev, May 26th. Tensions between Ukraine and Russia have escalated dramatically following
00:13a massive Russian missile and drone attack on Kiev that killed four people and wounded more
00:18than 100 on May 24th to 25th. In response, Ukrainian officials and military experts have
00:25warned that Moscow itself could become a target for retaliation. Ukraine warns of revenge strikes.
00:32Yvonne Stupak, a former Security Service of Ukraine SBU official and military expert,
00:38stated that Ukraine is preparing operations that will be a complete surprise for the
00:43Russian Federation in 2026. Stupak, who previously served in the SBU, told media that Ukrainian
00:50security services have developed new strategies that will take place where Russia does not expect
00:55it. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed retaliation for the May 24th attack,
01:01which he described as genuinely deranged after Russian forces launched approximately 90 missiles
01:07and 600 drones at the capital. Ukrainian air defenses successfully intercepted 55 missiles
01:14and 549 drones, but the sheer scale of the assault overwhelmed parts of the defense network.
01:20The attack marked only the third time Russia has deployed its nuclear-capable
01:24Ureshnik hypersonic missile, a weapon President Vladimir Putin has claimed is immune to any
01:30missile defense system and capable of reaching Mach 10 speeds. The missile struck the town of
01:35Biletserkva, approximately 50 miles south of Kiev. Ukraine's long-range strike capabilities.
01:42Ukraine has significantly expanded its domestic missile production capabilities.
01:46According to industry reports, Ukrainian company Firepoint has been mass-producing the FP-7 ballistic
01:53missile since late 2025, with a range of 200 kilometers and a top speed of 1,500 meters per second.
02:00An extended-range version, the FP-9, is expected to enter service in mid-2026, with a range of up
02:07to
02:07850 kilometers, sufficient to reach Moscow from Ukrainian-controlled territory.
02:12More significantly, Firepoint has developed the FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile, which successfully struck targets
02:20approximately 1,300 kilometers deep inside Russia in February 2026. The missile skims the terrain at altitudes
02:27as low as 40 meters, making it difficult to intercept.
02:31Strikes on the Russian province do not impress the Russian elite, said Denis Stillerman, co-owner of
02:37Firepoint, estimating that approximately 25 percent of FP-5 missiles fired should be able to penetrate
02:43Moscow's dense air defenses. A U.S. intelligence assessment, published in January, noted that Ukraine
02:49expects to receive JAS-39 Gripen fighter jets from Sweden in 2026, along with Meteor air-to-air missiles
02:57capable of engaging targets at ranges approaching 200 kilometers. Ukraine has also been authorized to
03:04purchase over 3,300 ERAM cruise missiles from the United States.
03:11Moscow Air Defense and Civilian Fear
03:13Moscow is protected by two dense rings of air defense systems, with approximately 130 air defense
03:20positions deployed in and around the capital as of spring 2026. These include roughly 100 Panzer
03:27S-1 systems, a smaller number of TOR systems, and approximately 20 S-400 batteries designed to
03:34intercept both cruise and ballistic missiles. Despite this layered defense, Ukrainian drones
03:39successfully penetrated Moscow's air defenses on May 17, 2026, striking multiple targets, including the
03:46Angstrom microelectronics plant in Zelenograd, the Moscow oil refinery, and the Solnich-Nogvorsk oil
03:52loading station. More than 120 drones were used in that attack, with Ukrainian forces confirming at
03:59least three successful strikes within the city limits. The success of the May 17 attack challenged
04:06the perception of an impregnable enemy capital, according to Ukraine's first separate center for
04:11unmanned systems. Russian authorities have responded by deploying additional S-400 systems around Moscow,
04:18particularly ahead of the May 9th Victory Day parade. However, the 2026 parade was held in a
04:24reduced format, without military equipment, for the first time since the war began, amid security
04:30concerns. Kremlin Retaliation and Escalation Risks
04:35The May 24th Russian attack on Kiev was explicitly framed as retaliation for a Ukrainian drone strike
04:41on May 21-22 that hit a vocational school dormitory in Starbilsk in Russian-occupied Luhansk region.
04:49Russia claimed the strike killed 21 people, most of them young female students. Ukraine denied
04:56targeting civilians, stating it had struck a Russian drone unit stationed in the area. Russian Foreign
05:02Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned on May 23rd that those responsible would face inevitable and
05:09severe punishment. The Oreshnik missile strike followed less than 48 hours later. Russian President
05:16Vladimir Putin has reportedly warned that if Ukraine continues to launch retaliatory strikes on Moscow
05:22using long-range missiles, Russia will respond with even greater force. The use of the Oreshnik missile,
05:29designed to carry nuclear warheads, is seen as a political warning rather than an effective weapon,
05:34given that previous strikes with dummy warheads caused minimal damage. Expert Assessment Ukrainian
05:41military experts acknowledge that penetrating Moscow's extensive air defense network remains
05:46challenging. The Oreshnik missile, with its multiple independently targetable warheads descending at
05:53steep trajectories, cannot be intercepted by existing Patriot systems. However, Ukraine's cruise missiles and
06:00drones, particularly those flying at very low altitudes, have demonstrated the ability to evade detection.
06:07Stupak noted that Ukraine will continue to target Russian military assets and infrastructure
06:12where they are least expected, including potentially expanding operations beyond the Black Sea region.
06:18The objective, he explained, is not necessarily to destroy targets, but to impose costs that force
06:24Russian elites to reconsider the war. As Moscow residents watch the skies with growing anxiety,
06:30the prospect of Ukrainian strikes on the capital, once considered unthinkable, now appears increasingly
06:36plausible. The question is not whether Ukraine can strike Moscow, experts say, but whether it can strike
06:44in sufficient numbers to overwhelm Russia's formidable, but not impenetrable, air defenses.
Comments