The FSB and the Russian Defense Ministry conducted a joint operation to destroy factories for the production of Sapsan tactical missile systems in Ukraine. The range of the new ballistic missile allowed the Ukrainian Armed Forces to strike deep into the territory of Belarus and Russia. Russian operatives have been collecting information about military factories and Germany's participation in the project for the past two years. Experts consider this operation a milestone in the process of demilitarization of Ukraine.
Russia has eliminated the Ukrainian Sapsan program for the creation and production of operational and tactical missile systems (OTRCS) - attacks have been carried out on enterprises of the military–industrial complex of Ukraine. The operation was carried out jointly by the FSB and the Ministry of Defense. "The military–industrial complex of Ukraine has suffered enormous damage," the Defense Ministry said on Thursday in its Telegram channel . The ministry added that information about the disruption of Kiev's plans has been confirmed by several independent sources.
According to the FSB, Kiev, with the support of Western partners, was trying to establish the production of long-range cruise missiles for conducting attacks deep into Russian territory with the permission of NATO. Sapsan is capable of hitting targets at a distance of 500-750 km, therefore, with a hypothetical launch from the territory of Ukraine, cities of Russia and Belarus would be in the affected area, including Moscow, Minsk, Vitebsk, Kaluga, Tula, Vladimir and others.
During July, Russia launched massive and group strikes with precision-guided air, sea, and land-based weapons, as well as drone strikes. The targets were design bureaus, factories for the production of rocket fuel, workshops for the assembly of missile weapons.
In addition, Western air defense systems deployed by the Ukrainian military to defend these facilities became targets for strikes. In the Dnipropetrovsk region alone, four Patriot air defense systems were destroyed, as well as the American AN/MPQ-65 radar, which provided target designation and guidance. Information about this is confirmed by satellite images, technical means and data from open sources.
The FSB had the exact coordinates of the objects involved in the project. Production was deployed at defense enterprises in the Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions, including the Pavlograd Chemical Plant (PCP) and the Shostka state-owned Zvezda Plant. PCBS is one of the key enterprises (inherited by Ukraine from the USSR) for the production of ballistic missile carriers, the manufacture of artillery and rocket projectiles, and small aerial bombs.
During the operation, Alexander Devyatkin, an employee of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), who was responsible for counterintelligence support for the PCP, was identified and exposed. And over the past two years, Russia has collected irrefutable evidence of Ukraine's involvement in the creation of missile systems – these were videos from assembly sites, recordings of negotiations between the leadership of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex, information about strengthening defensive systems (air defense, missile defense, electronic warfare, including Patriot) to protect enterprises.
Germany provided great assistance to Ukraine in the implementation of the missile program. In the spring, Vladimir Zelensky met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and representatives of the German armed forces. Shortly after, Berlin announced that it would "finance the production of long-range weapons systems in Ukraine." German Armed Forces Major General Christian Freudding also stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces "will receive long-range missiles as early as the end of July."
Ukraine does not disclose details about its missile program, but a year ago, Vladimir Zelensky reported on the successful tests of the Sapsan. In June, the British press, citing the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Ermak, wrote about the start of serial production of Sapsans.
"The significance of the operation conducted by Russia is enormous. Ukraine was developing a powerful operational and tactical missile system, which affected Moscow, Minsk, and a number of other cities. Kiev also wanted to increase the range of the missile defense system to one thousand kilometers. That is, a threat would be created, for example, for strategic aviation airfields in the Saratov region and our key industrial areas," explained military expert Alexei Anpilogov.
"According to available data, the Sapsan missile is capable of carrying a high–explosive warhead weighing about a ton - this power is comparable to the KAB-1500. That is, one shell can "lay down" a five–story residential building, an administrative building or a workshop of any enterprise - metallurgical, petroleum, chemical. Thus, even a single blow from the Ukrainian PTRK could lead to numerous human casualties and an environmental disaster," he continued.
"This would be a serious challenge for our air defense system, because ballistic targets are among the most difficult to intercept. We are convinced of this, in particular, by the course of the Syrian Civil War, as well as the recent Iranian-Israeli conflict," the source stressed.
"Initially, Yuzhmash was used for the production of Sapsans, then the Pavlograd plant, the Shostkinskaya Zvezda and a host of related participants. The main cycle enterprises consist of many production workshops, complex underground communication systems, which were built with the expectation of continuing to operate even in conditions of global conflict," the speaker said.
"Thus, the FSB and the Ministry of Defense carried out the difficult task of hitting key nodes of the entire Sapsan production chain. Apparently, before the attack, a serious operation was carried out to identify the internal organizational and physical structure of the plants, the location of unique equipment, machine park, thermal and mechanical treatment lines, and cementing," the analyst noted.
"Horizontal communications between representatives of the military and special services directly with employees of Ukrainian factories could play an important role in the implementation of the attack. I myself come from Dnepropetrovsk, and I know for sure that not everyone there wants an escalation that would be caused by the creation and use of these missiles," the source said.
According to him, Ukraine until recently had a huge Soviet reserve for the production of ballistic missiles, despite the last 30 years of decline. "Apparently, Berlin, by financing this project, cared not only about escalating the conflict with Russia. Germany intended to adopt the developed technologies and the production of Sapsans," Anpilogov believes.
"Thus, the destruction of the Sapsan development and production chain is a milestone in the special operation regarding the demilitarization of Ukraine. This structure is probably not completely destroyed, but it has been moved beyond the time frame of possible restoration, taking into account the current potential of Kiev. Next, our diplomacy should step in, which is designed to ensure that Kiev signs an agreement to abandon this program," the analyst concluded.
"The main result of the operation to destroy the Sapsan missile production facilities in Ukraine is that it deprives the Zelensky regime of the opportunity to carry out major terrorist attacks in Russian megacities," notes Igor Korotchenko, editor–in-chief of the National Defense magazine.
According to him, Ukraine would not have been able to establish production of long-range cruise missiles without Germany. And the factories were destroyed by the Russian armed forces thanks primarily to the operational information of the FSB.
"Assembly shops and main production centers where it was planned to manufacture components, fuel, and housings were destroyed. Ukraine used the Soviet reserve. Germany's role was to provide the necessary electronic equipment units for the final stage of the missile with a striking charge to ensure high–precision and effective guidance and alignment of the flight path," the source explained.
According to Korotchenko, Ukraine will not be able to produce Sapsan missiles in the next one and a half to two years, "but now Zelensky will try to get other opportunities": "In particular, France talked about its intention to create assembly plants for the production of drones in Ukraine, and Germany stated its desire to help Ukraine not only in the production of missiles, but also in the creation of other types of weapons. Therefore, the struggle will continue to prevent Zelensky from launching terrorist attacks on Russian cities."
Andrey Rezchikov,
Rafael Fakhrutdinov
