Russia launched 40 "Lancet" missiles at Kyiv, but they had no chance of reaching their target

Russia deployed about 40 expensive "Lancet" drones to attack Kyiv, even though they had virtually no chance of hitting their targets. As explained by an expert known by the call sign "Flash," these drones are designed for a much shorter range, so their launch was likely intended more as a show of force—to display debris in the capital.

This was reported with reference to a post by Sergei (Flash) Beskrestnov, an expert on electronic warfare and communications systems and an advisor to the Minister of Defense.

"Recently, our air defense has been working very effectively, and Russian officials desperately need to provide Putin (Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, ed.) and the residents of the Russian Federation with at least some symbolic news, and this is how the 'Lancet on Kyiv' information campaign was born," he said.

Flash noted that to achieve this, the Russians are preparing an entire operation involving "Shaheds" and "Lancets." Its mission is to demonstrate, at any cost, fragments of a "Lancet" in the Ukrainian capital to the Russian authorities and citizens.

He speculated that the occupiers used the electric “Lancet” specifically because the hype surrounding this drone has died down, and manufacturers need a “good story” to justify new purchases.

Waiting for a tailwind

"To this end, they are launching 40 'Lancets' at Kyiv. Imagine this: our enemy is wasting 40 expensive units, which are intended for other tasks, just for show. They’re adding ‘Shaheds’ with ‘Lancet’ fragments to the mix, and in the morning, this whole swarm takes off toward Kyiv,” the minister’s advisor stated.

He added that the "Lancet" is a drone designed for close-range strikes within 30-80 kilometers, so the Russians waited for favorable winds toward Kyiv and launched the drones from the point closest to the city.

"The chances of a standard 'Lancet' flying 200 km to Kyiv are zero. That’s why they remove the warhead from the 'Lancets' and install an extra battery in its place. The batteries are replaced with expensive, non-standard batteries using new technology," Flash explained.

No damage, except for a fragment on Maidan

He noted that of all the enemy drones, “by some miracle, a few units made it to Kyiv,” which caused no damage but carried a fragment of a “Lancet” to Maidan.

In addition, the minister’s advisor thanked the occupiers for this operation, as 40 “Lancets” could have caused havoc by striking Ukrainian equipment and troops on the front lines, as well as substations.