Key facts
- Ukraine's General Staff said the strike damaged three production workshops at the Morozov plant.
- The plant produces solid-fuel charges for 9M723 Iskander-M ballistic missiles, per the General Staff.
- The Morozov plant is part of Russian state defense conglomerate Rostec Corporation, which is subject to international sanctions.
- Ukraine sanctioned the Morozov plant in August, according to the General Staff.
- Russia's Defense Ministry did not comment on the incident, and the Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the claim.
Ukrainian forces struck the Morozov plant near St. Petersburg overnight, damaging three production workshops, Ukraine's General Staff said on November 9. The plant produces solid-fuel charges for 9M723 Iskander-M ballistic missiles, the General Staff said, and the extent of the damage is being assessed.
The General Staff said each such strike makes it harder for Russia to produce missiles for the Iskander systems, which it said Russia uses to strike Ukrainian cities. "The chain is broken at the very beginning, long before the launch pad," the General Staff said. It also said the plant produces explosives and has developed solid propellants for Topol-M intercontinental missile engines.
The Morozov plant is part of Russian state defense conglomerate Rostec Corporation, which is subject to international sanctions, according to the General Staff. Ukraine sanctioned the plant in August. Russia's Defense Ministry did not comment on the incident, and the Kyiv Independent said it could not independently verify the claim.
The strike is part of a Ukrainian campaign of long-range attacks on oil refineries and military-industrial plants across Russia since early summer. The General Staff said Ukrainian forces are systematically undermining Russia's military and economic potential to force it to end its armed aggression against Ukraine. Russia has meanwhile increased attacks across Ukraine, including with ballistic missiles, while Ukrainian air defenses face a shortage of Patriot interceptor missiles.
Overnight on November 9, a Ukrainian drone attack also struck Russia's second-largest oil refinery in Kirishi, Leningrad Oblast, regional governor Aleksandr Drozdenko confirmed.