Ukraine strikes Russia's only Soyuz rocket plant with Flamingo missiles - Türkiye Today
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Ukraine strikes Russia's only Soyuz rocket plant with Flamingo missiles
The photo shows a column of smoke after a Ukrainian strike on Russia's RKC Progress facility in Samara overnight with FP-5 "Flamingo" cruise missiles, Aug. 15, 2026. (Photo via Telegram)
By<br>Newsroom
August 15, 2026 11:45 AM GMT+03:00
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Ukrainian forces struck Russia's TsSKB-Progress facility in Samara overnight with FP-5 "Flamingo" cruise missiles, in what appears to be an attack on Russia's only plant that serially assembles the Soyuz-2 family of launch vehicles.<br>Samara region Gov. Vyacheslav Fedorishchev announced on Telegram that 2 people were injured in the strike, with no deaths reported.<br>Ukraine's "Sily Oborony" (Defense Forces) struck TsSKB-Progress with FP-5 Flamingo missiles, according to a statement from the Ukrainian drone-and-missile unit Fire Point, posted on Telegram.<br>"The Progress Rocket and Space Center is one of the key enterprises of the Russian rocket and space industry," the statement said, adding, "The center develops and produces medium-class launch vehicles, including the Soyuz-2 family, as well as spacecraft for Earth remote sensing and scientific programs."<br>The strike likely hit Building 106A of the facility, according to an analysis by the Ukrainian open-source monitoring account CyberBoroshno, shared by Ukraine's operational command (ЗСУ) on Telegram.<br>The building is part of the Soyuz launch vehicle production complex and operates as a high-cleanliness-class facility where onboard electrical systems, instruments and printed circuit boards are installed, components CyberBoroshno described as the rocket's "nervous system," including its control system, cable network and instrument compartment.<br>"Without this stage, the rocket cannot be assembled, even when the airframe and tanks are ready," the analysis said.<br>The same source said Building 106B, used for final assembly, is located nearby.
The photo shows Ukrainian FP-5 "Flamingo" cruise missiles before launching, ready for deployment at an unspecified location and time. (Photo via Telegram/firepointofficial)
Analysts say recovery could take 'months'<br>CyberBoroshno's analysis said facilities like Building 106A take longer to restore than standard production sites.<br>"Fire, soot and firefighting water in a high-cleanliness-class facility do not mean a roof repair; they mean requalification of clean zones, recertification of the production process, and repeated dust-contamination checks, months, not weeks," the analysis said.<br>It added that a sanctions-related complication compounds the problem, since the onboard electronics of Soyuz rockets rely on imported, supply-restricted components that cannot currently be readily repurchased.<br>The analysis described Progress's strategic significance as stemming from its uniqueness: it is the sole assembly point for the entire Soyuz-2 line, which Russia uses both to replenish its military orbital satellite grouping, including the Liana signals-intelligence and targeting system and the Persona/Razdan optical reconnaissance satellites, and to deploy its own satellite internet constellation, Rassvet, built by Bureau 1440 and launched exclusively on Soyuz-2.1b vehicles.<br>"There is no backup for this production," the analysis said. The full scale of the damage is still being assessed via satellite imagery, according to CyberBoroshno.<br>Separately, Fire Point and other Ukrainian sources described the strike's likely target as TsSKB-Progress, noting the facility develops, produces, and operates medium-class launch vehicles and spacecraft for Earth observation and scientific purposes and stating that more than 1,700 launch vehicles and 950 spacecraft of its design have been launched to date.<br>Andriushchenko Time, a Ukrainian Telegram channel, separately reported the strike targeted coordinates matching Building 106A and...