Ukrainian forces have launched a missile attack deep into Russian territory, hitting a key military factory in the city of Cheboksary, in the Chuvashia Republic, more than 900 kilometers from the front line.
The news was announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said that FP-5 "Flamingo" cruise missiles were used overnight against a plant that produces components for drones and missiles for the Russian army.
“Overnight, Ukrainian FP-5 ‘Flamingo’ missiles struck a military factory in Cheboksary, which supplies the occupying army with components for drones and missiles,” Zelensky wrote on the Telegram network.
The Ukrainian president also released footage that he said showed the moment of the strike and the plumes of smoke that rose above the target.
Later, the Ukrainian military announced that the target was the VNIIR-Progress plant and that a fire had broken out on its territory after the attack.
Russian authorities confirmed that the city of Cheboksary had been hit. The head of the Chuvash Republic, Oleg Nikolayev, said three people were injured, but did not provide details on whether a military factory had been damaged.
In addition to this attack, Ukraine said it had also struck the occupied port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, an oil refinery in the Samara region, and a so-called "shadow fleet" oil tanker in the Black Sea.
On the other hand, the Russian Defense Ministry said that air defense systems shot down or neutralized 326 Ukrainian drones overnight in various regions of the country.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Air Force announced that it had shot down 181 of the 207 drones launched by Russia, also claiming 21 direct hits on 14 different targets.
According to local Ukrainian authorities, at least two people have been killed and 26 others injured over the past 24 hours as a result of Russian attacks in several regions of the country.
The FP-5 "Flamingo" missile, according to data published by Ukraine, carries a warhead of about 1.150 kilograms and has a range of up to 3.000 kilometers, giving Kiev the ability to strike targets far away from the front line.
The attack comes at a time when Ukraine has intensified strikes on Russian military and energy infrastructure in an attempt to increase the cost of the war for Moscow and pressure for a resolution to the conflict.
