Ukraine hits rocket and space center, aircraft plant in Russia's Samara Oblast, General Staff confirms
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Ukrainian forces damaged a production facility at the Progress rocket and space center and an aircraft maintenance facility at the Aviakor plant in the Russian city of Samara on Aug. 15, the General Staff said on Aug. 19.
Residents reported explosions in Samara at around 5 a.m. local time on Aug. 15, while videos that began circulating on social media showed smoke rising near the Progress center and Aviakor plant.
President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier confirmed the Aug. 15 strike on the Progress Center, saying Ukrainian forces used domestically produced Flamingo missiles to target facilities located around 900 kilometers (560 miles) from Ukraine. The president did not specify that facilities at two enterprises had been damaged.
The General Staff added that the attack on the Progress Rocket and Space Center in Samara also sparked a fire covering around 5,000 square meters.
The Progress Rocket and Space Center is one of Russia's key enterprises in the missile and space industry and is involved in producing the Soyuz family of launch vehicles. Its products are used, among other purposes, to launch spacecraft into orbit and deploy Russian satellite communications constellations for Russian forces, according to the General Staff.
"Strikes on facilities of this importance significantly weaken Russia’s military and technological capabilities," the General Staff said.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the extent of the damage.
Ukraine regularly strikes military and defense-industrial facilities deep inside Russia to diminish Moscow's ability to wage its full-scale war. Overnight on Aug. 19, drones also targeted several Russian regions, with a fire reported at an oil refinery in Ufa, Bashkortostan, and attacks reported in Tula and Nizhny Novgorod oblasts.
