On February 14, speaking at a dramatic press conference on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted that one of the country's most important defense industrial facilities had been heavily damaged.
According to the Ukrainian leader, he decided to publicize this information because the actual incident happened some time ago and the damage assessments are now completed, no longer causing immediate risks for current military operations.
The destroyed facility operated a production line for a new cruise missile called Flamingo. This is a weapon designed with a range of up to 3,000km, capable of reaching most strategic targets deep within enemy territory.
This loss of infrastructure is assessed by military experts as a strong blow to Kiev's long-range firepower autonomy efforts, especially when the number of production lines for this complex weapon in Ukraine is currently very limited.
This missile line was once expected to become a weapon that changed the game thanks to its impressive technical specifications. With a range twice as long as the US Tomahawk missile and the ability to carry warheads weighing up to 1 ton, this is a symbol of Ukraine's military ambitions.
In August 2025, Mr. Zelensky confidently set a target to put this weapon into mass production in early 2026. However, the surprise attack caused this roadmap to be suspended indefinitely.
International analysts quickly dissected the technical details of this missile line. Although Kiev affirms that this is a completely domestic product, many experts point out that this weapon model has many surprising similarities with the British FP-5 Milanion line.
This similarity suggests that there may have been a widespread technology transfer or design consulting from Western partners to help Ukraine quickly acquire long-range attack capabilities in the context of direct aid facing many political barriers.
The incident also revealed loopholes in the point defense system of Ukrainian defense factories. Despite strengthening the air defense fire net, precision guided missile attacks are still a constant threat to key weapons production facilities.
The concentration of production lines at fixed locations makes them priority targets in the enemy's bombing list.
Currently, the Ukrainian military is making efforts to find alternative solutions, including dispersing smaller production facilities or finding assembly lines in neighboring countries to maintain long-range pressure.
Meanwhile, attacks on defense infrastructure are still continuing at high intensity, forcing the Kiev government to comprehensively restructure its strategy to protect key military assets in the following months of 2026.
