Feb 5 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s military said on Thursday it had carried out a series of “successful” strikes in January on a launch site for Russian intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
Ukraine’s General Staff said some buildings were damaged to varying degrees, one hangar was “significantly” damaged and some personnel were evacuated from the Kapustin Yar test range near the Caspian Sea. Its statement did not provide the dates of the attacks.
The strikes had hit a complex of hangar-type buildings used for the pre-launch preparation of intermediate-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles, the General Staff said on the Telegram messaging app.
In January, the Ukrainian air force said Russia had fired a hypersonic Oreshnik missile from the Kapustin Yar site. The General Staff’s statement did not mention that missile.
Russia fired the Oreshnik, which is capable of carrying nuclear warheads, at a target in western Ukraine in January, in response to what it described as an attempted Ukrainian drone strike on one of President Vladimir Putin’s residences.
Ukraine and Western countries have dismissed Russia’s account of the alleged attempted strike.
Ukraine’s military added that it used its long-range capabilities to carry out the strikes, including the Ukrainian-made Flamingo missile. Reuters could not immediately verify the statement independently.
(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Daniel Flynn)
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