A large-scale Ukrainian strike hit industrial infrastructure in the Russian southwestern region of Samara on Saturday. Ivan Noskov, the head of Samara, confirmed that air defense forces had attempted to repel a massive missile attack, noting that the city’s industrial sites sustained localized damage. While officials stated that medical assistance was provided to those injured in the incident, no specific details regarding the casualties were disclosed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on social media that the operation involved domestically produced Flamingo missiles. He identified the target as the Progress Center in Samara, a facility operating under the Russian space agency Roscosmos that is involved in the production of electronics and rocket technology. The site is situated approximately 900 kilometers, or 560 miles, from the Ukrainian border. Zelenskyy further noted that the Russian Savasleyka air base, located roughly 700 kilometers from the front line, was also struck, adding that peace must be made evident in Russia through concrete damage to specific facilities.
The intensity of Ukraine’s long-range aerial campaign has increased significantly throughout the year. Data from the independent conflict monitor ACLED indicates that Ukraine launched three times as many long-range strikes in July compared to January. These operations are intended to disrupt Moscow's war revenue and force the Russian military to extend its air defenses over a broader territory.
Russia's Ministry of Defense reported that it intercepted 598 Ukrainian drones across 19 Russian regions, as well as over the Black and Azov Seas and the annexed Crimean Peninsula. In the Moscow region, local Governor Andrey Vorobyov reported that a drone strike on a private home in the town of Shatura left two people wounded, including a nine-year-old child.
Meanwhile, the conflict resulted in civilian casualties in Ukraine. A Russian strike on an apartment building in the town of Marhanets resulted in the death of a three-month-old baby and left 11 other people wounded, according to Oleksandr Hanzha, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration. Additionally, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have targeted infrastructure and warehouses at the Ukrainian ports of Yuzhnyi, Izmail, and Odesa. Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russia launched 152 drones on Saturday, of which 124 were successfully destroyed.
Zelenskyy says need for peace has to be felt in RussiaWriting on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv’s forces had carried out a strike against Samara’s Progress Center, which operates under Russian space agency Roscosmos and is involved in producing rocket technology and electronics.He said that the strike used Ukraine’s domestically produced Flamingo missiles to hit the site, which is approximately 900 kilometers (560 miles) from the Ukrainian border.Zelenskyy also said Russia's Savasleyka air base, some 700 kilometers (430 miles) from the front line, had also been hit.“Peace is needed, and this must be evident in Russia — through concrete damage to specific facilities,” Zelenskyy wrote.While most of Ukraine’s strikes have a range of less than 200 kilometers (125 miles), its longer-range attacks have increased dramatically this year.
