Ukrainian forces struck the sanctioned Avitek defense plant in Kirov with an FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile early Friday, killing six workers and injuring 26. The strike, according to Kyiv Independent, hit a facility that is part of the Almaz-Antey conglomerate and produces surface-to-air missile components and parts for Kh-101 cruise missiles, and which is sanctioned by the US, EU, UK, Canada, Switzerland, and New Zealand.
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the strike soon after, calling it, as quoted by Ukrainska Pravda, “an absolutely just response” against a plant supplying “the occupier’s aviation and missile equipment.”
In parallel, Ukrainian drones struck Wildberries logistics hubs in St. Petersburg, the Leningrad region, and annexed Crimea overnight, marking, as Meduza reported, the sixth such attack on the retailer this month as of July 24.
The financial toll from the campaign has been significant, according to Kyiv Post, which cited analyst Sergei Semko of Data Insight estimating losses from a single earlier round of strikes on Krasnodar and Stavropol warehouses at 150–230 billion rubles ($1.9–3 billion); the outlet also reported that Wildberries updated its terms of service on July 7 to state it is no longer liable for losses from drone attacks, missile strikes, or other military incidents.
Military expert David Sharp, speaking to RFE/RL, said Russian air defense forces are “thinly spread” and “simply do not match the threats they currently face” from Kyiv as the dual-track campaign continues.
