Zelenskyy: Ukraine hit key Russian missile facility in Bryansk region

(Patria) - Ukrainian forces attacked a key factory producing missile components in Russia's border region of Bryansk on Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, Reuters reported last night.

The Ukrainian military said British Storm Shadow missiles were used against the Kremniy El plant and released a video it said showed explosions and a fire at the factory. It stated that the facility produced important missile components.

"Our fighters attacked one of the important Russian military factories in Bryansk," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address, citing a report from Ukraine's top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi.

"The factory produced electronics and components for Russian missiles. Precisely those missiles that hit our cities, our villages, and civilians," he said.

The governor of the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, said on Telegram that six civilians had been killed and 37 injured and posted a video showing him at the scene.

Bogomaz did not mention the factory in what he described as a "terrorist missile attack".
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the attack was premeditated and aimed at civilians and called on the United Nations to assess what happened.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, posting on Telegram, described the facility as a "critically important link in the chain of production of Russian high-precision weapons" that produces semiconductor devices and integrated microchips.

"The target was hit and significant damage to production facilities was recorded," it stated.

"The extent of the damage is being determined."

A video posted on Telegram showed aerial footage of a series of explosions and large fires over a wide area near a forest.

Reuters was able to verify the location with buildings, road layouts and a roundabout that matched a file and satellite imagery of the area.

Zakharova, writing on Telegram, stated: "The Kyiv regime deliberately struck the civilian population. The UN Secretariat, which regularly comments on the situation around the Ukrainian crisis, cannot fail to see this.".

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking this month on the fourth anniversary of Russia's 2022 invasion, called for an immediate ceasefire as a first step towards a just peace.

Guterres expressed regret over the "cascading consequences of this apparent violation of international law," referring to the Russian invasion.