Ukraine Hits Russian Oreshnik Launch Site With Flamingo Strikes

Ukraine’s Defense Forces carried out a series of long-range strikes in January targeting hangar facilities used for missile pre-launch preparations at Russia’s Kapustin Yar test site, Ukrainian officials said.

According to a statement published on Thursday, Feb. 5, by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, several hangar-type buildings at the site sustained damage, with one hangar significantly hit and personnel evacuated from the area.

The strikes targeted infrastructure where Russia conducts pre-launch preparations for medium- and intercontinental-range ballistic missiles, the General Staff said.

The attacks were carried out using Ukrainian-made long-range strike weapons, including the FP-5 Flamingo – subsonic cruise missile designed to carry large warheads for deep strikes. It is capable of traveling 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles). 

The Special Operations Forces (SSO) also confirmed that, together with other components of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, they carried out a successful comprehensive operation targeting the Kapustin Yar training ground.

“Long-range drones from the SSO Deep Strike units inflicted fire damage on the infrastructure of the Russian military facility,” the statement said.

According to the SSO, the operation lasted throughout January 2026. To carry it out successfully, the Special Ops coordinated with Chornaya Iskra (Black Spark), representatives of Russia’s insurgent movement, who provided intelligence and information support. 

This included monitoring Russia’s response to the strikes, detecting changes in logistics and command, and assessing the enemy’s adaptation following the damage.

The Kapustin Yar test range in Russia’s Astrakhan Oblast is one of Moscow’s main missile testing and launch sites, historically used for trials of ballistic and other strategic weapons and for launches of short- and medium-range systems. 

From this facility, Russian forces have conducted experimental launches of the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile – a weapon based on the RS-26 Rubezh design with a range of up to several thousand kilometers and hypersonic terminal velocities – which was first publicly used against Ukraine in November 2024 when a launch from Kapustin Yar was directed at the city of Dnipro. Subsequent strikes attributed to Oreshnik launches from Kapustin Yar include a January 2026 strike on infrastructure near Lviv. The site has also drawn Ukrainian drone attacks targeting its facilities because of its role in testing and launching the Oreshnik system.