Ukraine says its Flamingo cruise missiles hit the Progress rocket and space centre in Russia’s Samara region, about 900 km from the Ukrainian border.
Kyiv: Ukraine says its forces carried out long-range strikes on a Russian military airfield and the Progress rocket and space centre in the Samara region, targeting facilities that Kyiv says support Russia’s developing satellite internet network.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Flamingo cruise missiles struck the rocket facility, located about 900 kilometres from Ukraine’s border.
He said the strikes were part of Ukraine’s wider effort to reduce Russia’s military capacity and put pressure on Moscow to end the war.
Ukraine Claims Hits on Two Russian Sites
Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces recorded direct hits at the Progress facility in Samara and a military airfield in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region.
The Ukrainian military said fires broke out at both locations.
According to Kyiv, the Progress facility produces rockets used to launch satellites for Rassvet, a Russian broadband network being developed as an alternative to SpaceX’s Starlink.
Starlink has played an important role in Ukraine, particularly in battlefield communications and drone operations.
Russian officials did not confirm the reported damage to the Nizhny Novgorod airfield.
In Samara, local authorities said air defences had responded to what they described as a “massive missile attack.” Regional officials reported localised damage to industrial infrastructure but did not identify the affected facility.
Progress Centre Has Long Space History
The Progress centre has been an important part of Russia’s space programme for decades.
The facility has been involved in the production of the Soyuz family of rockets, which have played a major role in Russian and Soviet space missions.
Ukraine’s claim that the centre is supporting Russia’s emerging satellite communications network adds another dimension to the strike, given the importance of satellite connectivity in modern warfare.
Long-Range Strikes Intensify
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, and both sides have increasingly relied on long-range attacks against military and industrial targets.
Ukraine has stepped up strikes deep inside Russian territory in an effort to disrupt military production, logistics and infrastructure supporting the war.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces had also carried out attacks on Ukrainian logistics centres, fuel and energy infrastructure, transport facilities and sites linked to long-range drones and naval drones.
The ministry said a drone storage facility in Ukraine’s Chernihiv region was among the targets.
The claims from both sides could not be independently verified.
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This photograph shows an FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile and a drone FP-1 from Ukrainian defence technology company Fire Point on display at Eurosatory, a land and airland defence and security trade fair, in Villepinte on the outskirts of Paris, on June 16, 2026.
Julien De Rosa | Afp | Getty Images
Source:CNBC
