Ukraine Launched A "Flamingo" Strike Against Russia's Space Center In Samara
- 15.08.2026, 11:28
The Progress Center manufactures rockets for Russia's version of Starlink.
On the night of August 15, Ukrainian forces launched a missile missile strike on Russia’s Samara Region, according to The Moscow Times. This was reported by Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev. The target of the attack was an “industrial facility,” he wrote, without providing details. Authorities have set up an operational headquarters. According to Samara Mayor Ivan Noskov, the city’s industrial infrastructure sustained “localized damage” as a result of the strike. “I am working on-site with the plant’s management and emergency response teams. Medical assistance has been provided to the injured,” he said. Local residents reported seeing missiles fly overhead, hearing powerful explosions, witnessing a major fire and thick black smoke above the site of the attack, as well as a “smell of burning” in several neighborhoods. Authorities also began shutting down mobile internet service.
According to Ukrainian monitoring channels, the “Progress” Rocket and Space Center JSC—which manufactures, among other things, the “Soyuz-2.1b” launch vehicles used to place “Rassvet” satellite internet devices into orbit—a service positioned as an alternative to Elon Musk’s Starlink. It is located in the eastern part of the city near Zemetsa Street and Kirov Avenue, where traffic was blocked following the strike. Astra, having reviewed footage from local residents, confirmed that a fire broke out in the vicinity of the “Progress” Rocket and Space Center. Exilenova+ claims that the strike hit “the main workshop.” According to Supernova, a total of two missiles struck the facility.
"Progress" (part of "Roscosmos") is one of Russia’s leading companies in the rocket and space industry, engaged in the development and testing of the "Soyuz-2" series of launch vehicles and spacecraft. It is on the sanctions lists of the European Union, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Ukraine, New Zealand, and Japan for its involvement in the development of rockets and satellites used in the aggression against Ukraine.
Near “Progress,” in Samara’s industrial zone, is also the “Aviakor” aircraft plant. Presumably, the Ukrainian Armed Forces also struck this facility. It is one of Russia’s largest aircraft manufacturing enterprises, which assembles, repairs, and maintains various types of aircraft, including military ones.