Russian forces may have fired a second Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile, which reportedly had a technical malfunction and hit the occupied Donetsk region during an already large-scale and costly series of strikes on May 23-24.
If confirmed, these reports would indicate that one of all four Oreshniks that Russian forces have used so far in the war had a malfunction.
This is according to an analysis by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Ukrainian Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) sources reported on May 25 that footage from May 24 shows Russian forces firing a second Oreshnik missile that suffered a technical malfunction and hit a target in the occupied Donetsk region.
The footage appears to show six submunitions hitting the ground, and one Ukrainian OSINT source reported that the Oreshnik may have hit Russian military positions near occupied Avdiivka or Yasinuvata. Both about 40 kilometers from the front line.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense (MOD) news agency, ArmiInform, estimated that the Russian series of strikes against Ukraine from May 23 to 24 cost about $361 million, including $50 million for a single short-range Oreshnik missile.
The use of a second Oreshnik missile by Russian forces would increase the cost of the series of strikes from May 23 to 24 to about $411 million.
Russia began stepping up strikes on the city of Kiev on the night of May 12 to 13, less than a day after the Victory Day ceasefire expired at midnight on May 11 - more than a week before Ukraine's strike on Starobilsk.
The Kremlin said that the missile and drone strikes on the city of Kiev from May 23 to 24, which included more than 90 missiles and 600 drones, were in response to the strike on Starobilsk.
On May 25, the Russian Foreign Ministry (MFA) warned that the Kremlin would begin a "systematic" a series of strikes against Ukrainian defense industry sites, including drone design and production facilities, decision-making centers, and headquarters in the city of Kiev.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has urged foreign citizens, diplomats, and international organizations to leave the city of Kiev and warned residents to avoid military and government infrastructure in the city.
Throughout the war, Russian forces have struck civilian, government, defense-industrial, and military targets in the city of Kiev.