Russia's Hypersonic Missile Strike Disables Ukrainian Aircraft Plant

Russia's defense ministry confirmed targeting a Ukrainian aircraft repair plant with a hypersonic missile, causing significant damage. The attack, condemned by Ukraine and its European allies, comes amid increased military support for Ukraine from the West. The missile, used only twice, carried inert warheads.

In a recent strike, Russia's defense ministry announced the disabling of a Ukrainian aircraft repair plant in Lviv using a hypersonic Oreshnik missile. This development has drawn condemnation from Ukraine and its European allies, who perceive the move as intimidation following increased Western military support for Ukraine.

This marks only the second deployment of the intermediate-range ballistic missile by Russia during the ongoing conflict. Ukrainian sources revealed the missile carried inert dummy warheads, targeting the facility located near the Polish border. Russia's defense ministry confirmed the hit on critical areas of the Lviv State Aviation Repair Plant, effectively halting operations there.

According to Russia, the military enterprise was engaged in the repair of aircraft from Ukrainian armed forces, including Western-transferred models like F-16 and MiG-29, and also in the production of attack drones targeting deep within Russian territory. Moscow stated the strike was retaliatory, claiming it responded to a Ukrainian action, a charge that Kyiv denies.

(With inputs from agencies.)