Zelensky’s capabilities to launch Flamingo missiles weakened — analyst

MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/. Russian strikes on Ukrainian military facilities have significantly weakened Kiev’s ability to produce and use Flamingo missiles against Russian territory, military analyst Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine, told TASS.

"The damage inflicted on Ukraine’s military-industrial complex as a result of strikes by the Russian Armed Forces on factories and workshops producing Flamingo cruise missiles has significantly weakened the Kiev regime’s ability to launch long-range missile strikes against Russian territory. However, some potential still remains in terms of production sites that have not yet been identified, as well as stockpiles held by the Ukrainian armed forces. In any case, the risk has not been completely eliminated, although - and I emphasize this once again - Zelensky’s capabilities in this area have been significantly weakened," he noted.

The analyst also noted that missile production has been set up in more than 10 European countries. According to him, potential deliveries of such weapons to Ukraine must be taken into account when organizing air defense in Russian regions.

"We must take this factor into account when developing the necessary air defense countermeasures, both for the regions themselves and for those potential targets against which Zelensky might authorize such strikes," the analyst added.

Therefore, Korotchenko believes that one of the tasks of the Russian Armed Forces at the current stage is to destroy transport logistics along the border with Poland and Romania on Ukrainian territory, "in order to make the delivery of finished products or components as difficult as possible."

The Russian Defense Ministry reported earlier that the Russian Armed Forces launched a massive strike overnight to Wednesday, targeting facilities involved in the assembly and storage of FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles, as well as their components, in Kiev and five other regions of Ukraine--Kiev, Chernigov, Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava, and Kharkov.