A fire raged at the Titan-Barrikady research and production centre in Volgograd overnight on Friday after Ukraine’s home-made Flamingo missiles struck the facility more than 300 miles behind the front lines. The plant, part of Russia’s state-owned space agency Roscosmos, manufactures launchers for the Yars nuclear missile system and Iskander ballistic missiles, alongside artillery and anti-ship systems. Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the strike, calling it a “just target for our long-range sanctions” and describing the complex as “a major industrial complex where the enemy produces artillery systems and specialised military equipment.”
The attack came as Zelensky ordered a 40-day offensive after consulting the head of the Ukrainian security service. In a post on X, he told Vladimir Putin: “Russia must get out of Ukraine with its war – we want no war. … Russia must now take that step toward peace.” Denis Shtilerman, co-founder of Fire Point, which manufactures the Flamingos, posted footage of five missiles launching and wrote: “Volgograd welcome the seasonal migration of flamingos from Ukraine. To be continued.” Andrei Bochrov, the governor of the Russian oblast, confirmed that “production facilities” at an unnamed enterprise were damaged, adding that 10 people were injured and receiving medical treatment.
“Ukraine strikes major Russian missile plant with Flamingo missiles as Zelensky begins 40-day campaign to pressure Russia to end war.”
The Flamingo missiles, which entered service last autumn, have a reported range of about 2,000 miles and carry a significantly heavier payload than drones, bringing sensitive sites such as Titan-Barrikady into fresh danger. Earlier this month, Flamingos struck a factory making drone components in Cheboksary. Separate Ukrainian strikes also hit a Pantsir-S1 air defence system and a car ferry in occupied Crimea, further cutting off the peninsula from supplies.
Meanwhile, cross-border attacks continued to claim civilian lives. In Russia’s Bryansk region, a Ukrainian drone killed two people in their car near the border, acting governor Yegor Kovalchuk said. Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported 24 Ukrainian drones intercepted heading for the capital. In Ukraine, the governor of Dnipropetrovsk region, Oleksandr Ganzha, said more than 40 drone and artillery strikes killed one person and injured another near Nikopol. Russia launched ballistic missiles on Kyiv early Sunday, injuring two and damaging buildings, including a residential site and a service station. A Ukrainian drone attack also set an oil refinery on fire in Slavyansk-na-Kubani.
Zelensky’s 40-day campaign aims to pressure Russia to end the war, but with both sides intensifying strikes far behind enemy lines, the path to peace remains uncertain.