In recent days, a succession of attacks by Ukraine against arms factories, oil refineries, logistics infrastructure and ammunition depots in Russia has revealed a change in Ukrainian strategy: weaken the industry that supports Moscow’s war effort. But how is kyiv managing to reach facilities located hundreds of kilometers from the battle line?
On Sunday, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskand, reported that its forces carried out long-range attacks against Russian strategic infrastructure, reaching two oil refineries located in the regions of Krasnodar and Yaroslavlabout 300 and 700 kilometers from the border with Ukrainerespectively.
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According to Zelensky, these operations seek to reduce Russia’s ability to sustain the war by hitting facilities linked to the Russian army’s energy supply.
The Ukrainian General Staff indicated that the refinery Krasnodarone of the largest in the south of Russiarecorded an impact that caused a fire, while at the Yaroslavl An impact and the appearance of smoke were also reported, although the damage is still being assessed, according to the EFE agency.
The Ukrainian authorities also claimed attacks on a railway bridge in Crimeaused for the transfer and supply of Russian troops, and against an ammunition depot in the occupied Donetsk region.
Ukraine also reached one of the main systems production plants for Russian ballistic missiles and a key facility for fuel transportation.
According to an analysis of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW)During the night of June 26-27, Ukrainian forces used long-range cruise missiles FP-5 Flamingo to attack the plant Titan-Barrikadylocated in the city of Volgograd. The Ukrainian General Staff assured that the bombing caused a fire in the facilitieswhere launchers and support vehicles for ballistic missiles are manufactured Iskander-Min addition to equipment intended for intercontinental ballistic missiles Topol-M and Yarsas well as parts for heavy artillery systems.
The ISW reported that geolocated images released after the attack show explosions and columns of smoke at the plant, while Zelensky confirmed the use of Flamingo missiles in the operation, and published a video. For his part, the governor of the region of Volgograd acknowledged that a “high-speed aerial target” damaged an industrial facility.
The ISW highlighted that this attack confirms the increasing use of Flamingo missiles on the part of Ukraine and shows an improvement in its ability to sustain long-range attacks against strategic military objectives within Russia.
Capture of a video shared by the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, showing a missile attack on Russian territory.
Ukrainian forces also attacked the Vtorovo oil pumping stationin the oblast of Vladimira facility operated by the state-owned company Transneft and considered a fundamental logistics node for the transportation of fuels to Moscow and the Baltic Sea, highlighted the ISW. According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the attack It reached technical buildings and caused secondary detonationswhile NASA satellite data detected a thermal anomaly in the vicinity of the facility.
The ISW maintained that the intensification of these attacks against oil infrastructure seeks to overwhelm Russian air defenses and could aggravate fuel shortages in both Russian regions and occupied Ukrainian territories.
What are Flamingo missiles like?
Jan Polak (right) and Martin Ondracek of the Czech organization Arms for Ukraine look at a Flamingo cruise missile at the Fire Point factory, located in an undisclosed location in Ukraine, on Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
In addition to its drones, The FP-5 Flamingo long-range cruise missile is one of the most powerful weapons in the current Ukrainian arsenal. With it, kyiv is aiming deep into the Russian rear, unreachable until recently.
He Flamingo was presented in August of last year as a long-range missile with the potential to change the course of warsomething that has not yet happened. Furthermore, few units have been used so far.
In August it was reported that, by December, Flamingo production would increase to seven units per day.
The first launch of the Flamingo occurred on August 30 and achieved goals in Crimea.
In October, Zelensky reported that a second Flamingo had been used against Russian targets, without giving more details.
On November 13, the army of Ukraine spoke of a new mission of the Flamingobut he also did not give details.
In its June 27 report, the ISW noted that it has recorded at least nine different attacks made with missiles FP-5 Flamingo against Russian facilities.
But Ukrainian analysts from open sources they estimate that Until June 28, Ukraine would have launched at least 39 FP-5 Flamingo missiles in different operations. Of those, it has been confirmed six impacts on objectives.
Only in the weekend attack against Titan-Barrikady four or five missiles would have been used Flamingoof which three reached the plant’s workshops, according to the assessments of Ukrainian analysts.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, arrives at the European Council summit in Brussels, Belgium, on June 18, 2026. (EFE/EPA/OLIVIER MATTHYS).
Although part of its technical specifications remain confidential, the Ukrainian company Fire Pointmissile manufacturer Flamingohas revealed part of the capabilities of this new weapon.
According to information released by the company, The FP-5 Flamingo is a cruise missile launched from ground platformsdesigned to achieve objectives located up to 3,000 kilometers away.
It is a subsonic projectile which develops a cruising speed of between 850 and 900 kilometers per hourbeing able to approach the 950km/h on certain flight segments.
The missile has a length of between six and seven metersa similar wingspan thanks to its deployable wings and an approximate weight of six tons.
It is equipped with a high-explosive warhead of between 1,100 and 1,150 kilogramsa load considerably higher than that of many cruise missiles currently used.
For its launch it uses a solid fuel accelerator rocket. which gives you the initial boost. Once in the air, a AI-25 turbojet enginewhich allows you to travel long distances to your goal.
The guidance system combines inertial navigation with satellite positioning signals (GNSS), while the manufacturer ensures that can achieve a precision with a margin of error close to 14 meters.
One of the highlights of Flamingo is your flight profile. It is designed to travel at very low altitudetaking advantage of the relief of the terrain to reduce the chances of being detected by enemy radars. According to the ISW, this characteristic, added to the shortage of Russian early warning aircraft (AWACS), has contributed to several of these missiles being able to penetrate Russian air defenses and reach strategic targets located hundreds of kilometers from the front.
AWACS are aircraft equipped with powerful radars capable of detecting air threats at long distances and coordinating the response of anti-aircraft defenses.
Despite the information released by Fire Point, Numerous details of the Flamingo remain under wraps.. Ukraine has not revealed the manufacturing cost of each missile, the number of units produced, its radar signature or the complete characteristics of its navigation and electronic warfare systems, information considered sensitive in the midst of the conflict.
