Russian Security Service Targets Ukrainian Missile Facilities

The agency issued a statement: “In a special joint operation, the Russian Federal Security Service, in cooperation with the Russian Ministry of Defense, targeted the facilities of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex involved in the production of tactical operational missile systems.” It added that Ukraine was planning to use the missiles to strike deep into Russia, explaining that “Ukraine secretly developed its own missile program using technologies and remaining stockpiles from the Soviet Union.” The agency added that “the joint efforts of the Federal Security Service and the Russian army thwarted Ukraine’s plans to produce ‘Sapsan’ tactical ballistic systems to strike deep into Russia and inflicted fire damage on the military-industrial complex facilities in Ukraine that produce these systems.” The statement added: “It has been proven that with financial support and assistance from specialists from one of the Western European countries, Ukraine developed and began producing a medium-range ‘Sapsan’ ballistic missile at defense facilities in the Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions, capable of striking deep into Russian territory.” The materials from the Russian Federal Security Service stated: “As Russian forces advanced towards the Dnipropetrovsk region, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense issued an order to evacuate the factories and warehouses of the Pavlograd Chemical Plant to a reserve facility in the village of Vakulenchuk, in the Zhytomyr region.” Additionally, the state-owned Shostka Plant “Zvezda” (in the city of Shostka, Sumy region), specialized in producing gunpowder and artillery weapon charges, participated in the ‘Sapsan’ missile program. The materials from the Russian Federal Security Service confirmed that “all the above-mentioned facilities were subjected to fire from the Russian Armed Forces, as confirmed by satellite images, technical means, and information from open sources.”