Ukraine Says Long-Range Strikes Hit Russian Airfield and Rocket Centre
Ukraine said on Saturday that its long-range strikes hit a Russian military airfield and a rocket centre that Kyiv says supports Russia’s emerging satellite internet network.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Flamingo cruise missiles struck the rocket facility, located about 900 km (560 miles) from Ukraine’s border. The attack formed part of Kyiv’s campaign to pressure Moscow to end the more than four-year war by striking targets deep inside Russia.
“It is important that Russia’s war potential be reduced,” Zelenskiy said in a post on X. He added that peace was needed and should be demonstrated through concrete damage to specific facilities. According to Zelenskiy, the targeted airfield hosted aircraft used to attack Ukraine.
Strikes Reported at Two Russian Sites
Ukraine’s General Staff said direct hits were recorded at an airfield in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region and at the Progress rocket and space centre in the Samara region.
The General Staff said the strikes caused fires at both locations. However, authorities in Nizhny Novgorod did not confirm the reported airfield strike.
Meanwhile, local officials in the Samara region said air defences had repelled a “massive missile attack”. Ivan Noskov, head of the regional capital, said Samara’s industrial infrastructure suffered localised damage.
Emergency services were working at the scene, Noskov said, without identifying the affected site.
Rocket Centre Linked to Satellite Network
Ukraine’s General Staff said the Samara plant produces rockets used to launch satellites for the Rassvet broadband network.
Russia is developing the network as an alternative to SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service. Starlink operates in Ukraine but not in Russia, and has provided Kyiv with a significant advantage in drone operations and battlefield communications.
The Progress centre has also played an important role in Soviet and Russian space programmes. Its work has included production of the Soyuz family of rockets.
Overnight, Samara’s regional governor said a missile had struck an unidentified industrial facility. About seven hours later, at around 12:15 local time, he said emergency services were still dealing with the aftermath, without providing further details.
Russia Reports Strikes on Ukrainian Infrastructure
Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday that its drones, missiles and artillery had struck Ukrainian logistics centres as well as fuel, energy and transport infrastructure used by the Ukrainian army.
The ministry also said Russian forces had targeted workshops assembling long-range drones and drone boats. In addition, it reported a strike on a long-range drone storage facility in Ukraine’s Chernihiv region.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, battlefield advances have slowed across much of the front this year, according to analysts. However, Russian forces continue to advance towards key cities in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
At the same time, both sides have intensified long-range attacks against a broad range of targets.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports.
With inputs from Reuters