The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) stated this morning that Russian forces “carried out a massive strike with long-range air-, ground-, and sea-based high-precision weapons and attack drones, which hit enterprises of the defense industry and fuel and power facilities in Kiev and Kiev Region, as well as infrastructure of military airfields in Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava, Cherkassy, Chernigov (Chernihiv), and Kiev Regions.” The strikes, launched overnight, were “in response to terrorist attacks launched by the Kiev regime against civilian infrastructure on the territory of the Russian Federation” – a reference to the targeting of Russian oil and other energy facilities, in particular.
The first target listed by the Russian Ministry of Defense was RADIONICS LLC, which manufactures control systems for the UK-modelled Flamingo long-range ground-based cruise missile, as well as the Fire Point-7 and Fire Point-9 operational-tactical [ballistic] missiles currently under development, and other weapons. Unusually, this and eight other targets were named and described by the MoD in detail. The strikes thus match the May 24 warning from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which said that attacks like the destruction of a school dormitory in Lugansk that killed 21 students had “exhausted our patience,” so there would be “consistent and systemic strikes at enterprises of the Ukrainian defense industry in Kiev, including specific facilities for designing, manufacturing and programming drones and preparing them for operation. The Kiev regime uses these drones with the assistance of NATO specialists who supply components, provide reconnaissance and target acquisition data. The strikes will target decision-making centers and command posts.”
