04.11.2026

Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian defense facilities in an attempt to halt
missile production and weaken Russia’s ability to launch air strikes. In the past few days, four production facilities on Russian territory have come under attack.

This is what Der Spiegel writes about. German journalists analyzed the new Ukrainian tactics.

As the publication notes, due to a shortage of ammunition, primarily air defense missiles, Ukraine is becoming increasingly vulnerable to Russian air attacks. Therefore, Kyiv is trying not only to shoot down enemy missiles, but also to disrupt their production by striking Russian military-industrial complex enterprises deep in the country.

Among the affected facilities are the Proton plant in Oryol, which specializes in the production of optoelectronic components, including diodes. The Tolyattikauchuk enterprise in Tolyatti produces synthetic rubber needed for the production of rocket fuel, and the Energia plant in Yelets produces batteries for guidance systems for glider bombs.

What weapons does Ukraine use?

As Der Spiegel notes, new opportunities for such attacks have likely emerged after the arrival of another batch of British-French Storm Shadow and Scalp cruise missiles. They are capable of covering distances of up to 300 km, and thanks to stealth technologies, they are difficult to detect by Russian air defense systems. This gives them an advantage over Ukrainian-made missiles.

Ukraine has long been trying to hit Russian defense plants with its own missiles. In particular, the FP-5 Flamingo is capable of covering much greater distances than the Storm Shadow. At the same time, due to its bulky design, it has a larger effective radar signal scattering area, which makes it easier to detect by Russian air defense systems.

In the summer, Ukrainian forces used Flamingos to hit two Russian factories far behind the front lines. But Russian air defenses have shot down so many of these missiles that their manufacturer, Fire Point, is now having to refine the design. In addition to the FP-5 and Storm Shadow, Ukraine also uses shorter-range Neptune cruise missiles and long-range drones.

Russian air defense is not limitless

Ukrainian strikes are placing an increasing strain on Russian air defenses. Douglas Barry, a military expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), emphasizes that Russia’s resources to counter such attacks are limited.

“The Russians’ reserves are large, but not unlimited. In addition, they need to defend a huge territory,” he explained.

Therefore, the Russian command has to distribute available forces and means and determine which objects require enhanced cover. In particular, the production site in Yelabuz, where the Geran strike drones are manufactured, has a powerful air defense system. Ukraine has already tried to attack this enterprise, but has encountered a dense network of air defense.

According to Barry, strikes on factories, combined with other operations, could disrupt Russian production chains and thereby reduce the intensity of air attacks. The expert notes that there are occasional pauses between Russian missile strikes, as missiles usually reach the troops directly from production.

In addition, Ukraine has recently been increasingly attacking Russian aircraft at airfields. This could reduce the number of bombers that Russia uses to launch guided missiles. At the same time, Russia’s aircraft are gradually wearing out after four and a half years of war, and accidents involving military aircraft have recently become more frequent.

Ukraine finds it increasingly difficult to replenish its stockpiles of Western missiles

As Der Spiegel notes, it is important for Ukraine to continue to strike at the Russian military industry. There will probably be fewer problems with the production of drones. At the same time, they have the least destructive power among the means of destruction used by the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

However, replenishing the stocks of Storm Shadow and Scalp missiles is much more difficult, as their production has been discontinued. The UK and France had planned to resume production of these missiles, but it seems that they have postponed such plans again. One possible replacement option could be the German Taurus cruise missile, which is structurally similar to the Storm Shadow. However, the German government categorically refuses to transfer it to Ukraine.

Under such conditions, Ukraine will likely be forced to increasingly rely on its own developments. In addition to the Flamingo and Neptune cruise missiles, it has created the FP-7 and FP-9 ballistic missiles. However, these developments are more adapted to hitting moving targets than large industrial facilities.

In addition, these missiles, like the Flamingo, were created directly during the war, without enough time for long-term testing. Therefore, their real effectiveness remains uncertain, Der Spiegel concludes.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA reported that the Ukrainian Defense Forces hit the launcher of the Iskander-M operational-tactical missile complex in the Kursk region of Russia. It was located near Fatezh, not far from the place of reloading ballistic missiles. The Ukrainian military also struck at ammunition depots and material and technical equipment and repair units of the Russian army in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

https://war.obozrevatel.com/ukr/section-war/news-vluchay-u-luchnyka-a-ne-v-strilu-ukrayina-natsilylasya-na-zbroyovi-zavody-rosiyi-der-spiegel-04-11-2026.html