Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv strikes Russian defence plant as Zelensky tells Putin to ‘take a step towards peace’

Volgograd’s governor Andrei Bocharov confirmed an attack on a business in the region’s Krasnooktyabrsky district, saying 10 people had been wounded and taken to a hospital. He said production facilities at the site were damaged but did not identify the company.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky ‌claimed they had struck a Russian military plant in Volgograd producing artillery ⁠systems ​and ⁠components for missile ⁠launch systems.

The said the attack on Saturday used Ukrainian-made long-range Flamingo missiles and caused a fire at ‌the ​premises ‌of the ⁠Titan-Barrikady ⁠plant.

Explosions were heard while a fire was seen in the city as authorities issued a missile threat alert for Volgograd, Russian independent outlet Astra reported, citing locals.

Five naval vessels were deployed to track the Admiral Grigorovich, the ship involved in the 16 June incident with the Bright Future yacht south of the Isle of Wight.

The latest missile attacks on a Russian military plant comes after Volodymyr Zelensky told Vladimir Putin to “get out of Ukraine” and “take that step toward peace” after approving a 40-day offensive to “influence” Russia to end the war.

In a post on X, Zelensky wrote: “Russia must get out of Ukraine with its war – we want no war.

“Ukraine has put forward proposals to our key partners, and Putin’s friends have also heard from us that a meeting is possible and that ending this war is possible. Russia must now take that step toward peace.”

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed Russia is moving air defences to protect key targets like Moscow as Ukrainian drones hit deep inside the country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said every Russian defence facility that serves the war is a “just target for our long-range sanctions” in a post on X.

“Last night, FP-5 Flamingo missiles successfully struck the Titan-Barrikady facility in Volgograd,” he added.

“It is a major industrial complex where the enemy produces artillery systems and specialized military equipment, including components for missile launch systems used in attacks against our people.”

Ukraine struck a major industrial facility in the Russian city of Volgograd on Saturday, while a Russian drone attack killed a man in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region overnight.

Ukraine has stepped up its long-range aerial attacks on Russian military industries and energy facilities, aiming to cut Moscow’s revenue for the war and make Russians feel the consequences of the invasion, now in its fifth year.

The campaign, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said aims to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, is said to have choked Russian fuel supplies and military deliveries.

Writing on X, Zelensky said that FP-5 Flamingo missiles hit the Titan-Barrikady facility in Volgograd in southwestern Russia, describing it as a “major industrial complex” where Russia “produces artillery systems and specialized military equipment, including components for missile launch systems.”

Authorities in Russian-annexed Crimea have declared an “emergency situation” in a bid to ease the fallout from increasing Ukrainian aerial attacks on the peninsula.

Friday’s announcement came amid fuel shortages and power cuts triggered by the Ukrainian attacks on logistics chains and oil facilities across Crimea, the rest of Russian-occupied Ukraine and southern Russia.

Kyiv calls its stepped up air attacks fair retribution for Russia’s near-daily barrages on Ukraine, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying on social media: “We are doing everything to force Russia to end the war and restore justice. And it is Crimea that is at the centre of this policy of ensuring justice.”

The Ukrainian hit on an artillery manufacturing plant in Russian Volgograd Friday night, in another show that Ukraine is ramping up its strikes inside Russia.

Earlier this month, Ukrainian drones struck several targets in and around Moscow, setting an oil refinery on fire and forcing all four of Moscow’s airports to temporarily suspend departures and arrivals.

Ukraine has also taken aim at Russian-occupied Crimea this week, with drones knocking out power in the Russian-occupied peninsula’s largest city, Sevastopol.

Volodymyr Zelensky has stressed the importance of sanctions on Russia and its partners, saying they must be “enforced where they will be felt most.”

“Strengthening air defence – primarily anti-ballistic protection – expanding cooperation within the Drone Deal format, and increasing pressure on the aggressor are key priorities,” the Ukrainian president said.

“Sanctions on Russia and its partners over this war must be enforced where they will be felt most. We need strong and rapid steps that will force Russia to move toward ending this war.

“Everything that strengthens Ukraine helps bring peace closer. I thank everyone who is helping us.”

It comes after Russia bombarded 15 Ukrainian regions with thousands of drones and bombs this week.

Ukraine has secured the return of seven civilians who it says have unlawfully detained by Russia for years.

The returned civilians, aged between 35 and 66, were captured during the occupation of Mariupol and parts of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk oblasts in 2022, Kyiv Independent reported.