Ukraine fully deploys 'Flamingo' missile with 3,000-km range to strike deep inside Russia

By Ahn Hyo-jung, The Herald Business

Ukraine has been demonstrating the striking power of its domestically developed long-range missile, the Flamingo, in a series of deep strikes that have sharply escalated pressure on Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday (local time) on social media that "last night, FP-5 Flamingo missiles successfully struck the Titan-Barikady military equipment production facility in Russia's Volgograd."

Footage Zelensky released alongside the announcement showed the Flamingo being launched and hitting its target. The Volgograd region lies roughly 500 kilometers behind Russian lines from the Ukrainian front.

The Flamingo has recently emerged as a key pillar of Ukraine's long-range strike capability alongside drones. Ukrainian forces also used the missile on June 10 to strike a munitions factory in Russia's Cheboksary region, about 600 kilometers from the front lines.

First unveiled last August, the Flamingo is a cruise missile Ukraine developed independently, with a stated range of 3,000 kilometers. That is enough to put not only Moscow — roughly 750 kilometers from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv — but much of western Russia within reach. Ukraine has been ramping up investment with the goal of establishing a mass production system for the Flamingo by early this year.

Russia responded swiftly. On Friday, Russian forces struck production facilities belonging to Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz in the northeastern regions of Poltava and Kharkiv. Naftogaz said the attacks caused direct damage, including destruction of production infrastructure.

Ukraine has approved a "40-day operation" aimed at intensifying pressure on Russia, which is already struggling with an energy crisis. Ukrainian forces have been stepping up their offensive with the end of the war as their stated objective.