The key facts
- On November 7, the Russian Defense Ministry reported a strike on the Kyiv Meridian plant linked to Flamingo missiles
- The plant had already been hit on July 19 — then it was about parts for Neptune-MD missiles
- Earlier, strikes also hit Antonov and Smart Munitions, linked to FP-5 production
Strike on Meridian
Russian forces struck the Kyiv enterprise Meridian named after S. P. Korolyov, which, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, is involved in the production of operational-tactical and cruise missiles called Flamingo. The ministry reported this on November 7, revealing details of the overnight attack on facilities of Ukraine's military-industrial complex. 'In Kyiv, an industrial enterprise (LLC Meridian named after S. P. Korolyov) producing operational-tactical and cruise missiles Flamingo has been hit,' the Ministry of Defense statement is quoted as saying in a publication Life.ru.
What is known about the enterprise
Meridian is one of the oldest enterprises of Kyiv's radio-electronics industry: the plant was founded in 1953 and initially produced complex electronic equipment, and later its facilities began to be used to manufacture missile weapons components. As Life.ru notes, citing documents of the Ukrainian government, as early as March 4, 2015, the enterprise was included in the list of facilities of strategic importance to the state's economy and security.
The plant has already been struck before
This is not the first strike on Meridian: On July 19, the Ministry of Defense reported a strike on this plant, which, according to the ministry, produced parts for Neptune-MD missiles — hull elements, guidance system components and assemblies for guided missiles. The new statement shows that the facility is being attacked again, while the declared purpose of its output has changed: in the summer it was about the Neptune-MD, and now about the Flamingo missiles.
Context: strikes on the Flamingo production chain
The FP-5 Flamingo missiles were developed by the Ukrainian company Fire Point; a flight range of up to three thousand kilometers and a warhead mass of more than a ton have been claimed for them. The company also produces FP-1 and FP-2 strike drones and is developing the FP-7 and FP-9 systems. According to Life.ru, Russian strikes on facilities associated with this output have been carried out consistently: On October 22, a strike on the Kyiv aircraft plant Antonov was reported, where, according to the Ministry of Defense, long-range drones and FP-5 cruise missiles were assembled, and on October 7 a strike hit the Smart Munitions enterprise, where, according to the Russian military report, Flamingo and FP-9 operational-tactical missiles were assembled and stored.
Limitations of the information
Information about the nature of the strike and its consequences comes from one side of the conflict — the Russian Ministry of Defense as retold by Life.ru; there is no independent confirmation of the extent of the damage or the position of the Ukrainian side in the available publications.
