{"id":28644,"date":"2026-08-15T12:34:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T12:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/28644\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T12:34:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T12:34:18","slug":"ukraine-strikes-space-centre-developing-russian-starlink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/28644\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine strikes space centre developing \u2018Russian Starlink\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Credit: X \/ @ZelenskyyUa<\/p>\n

Ukraine has struck a facility used in the production of Russia’s new satellite internet system<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kyiv deployed Flamingo cruise missiles to target the Progress Rocket Space Centre in Samara, south-western Russia, in an overnight attack, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The facility, around 560 miles from Ukraine, produces Soyuz-2 launch vehicles used to project Rassvet satellites, Russia’s answer to Starlink<\/a>, Elon Musk’s low-orbit satellite internet system.<\/p>\n

With the launch of Rassvet, there are fears that Ukraine could lose its battlefield advantage<\/a> through Starlink, which allows Kyiv’s forces to stay connected to the internet, and therefore effectively communicate and operate drones.<\/p>\n

\"Copy<\/p>\n

Ukraine’s president said the facility was hit along with the Savasleyka air base, in what he called a “good achievement”.<\/p>\n

The Savasleyka air base stores MiG-31 fighter jets capable of launching Kinzhal ballistic missiles. It is around 435 miles from the Ukrainian border.<\/p>\n

“The Savasleyka airfield, where the carriers of Russian missiles that strike our cities and villages are based, was also reached by our long-range sanctions,” Mr Zelensky said.<\/p>\n

Video footage posted by the Ukrainian president<\/a> showed the facilities, in the south-west of the country, on fire with smoke billowing from the buildings.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The aftermath of the strikes showed buildings on fire<\/p>\n

Mr Zelensky also said Ukrainian strikes damaged an oil facility in Ust-Luga, more than 500 miles from the Ukrainian border. He did not name the site.<\/p>\n

Writing on X, the Ukrainian president said: “Our plan of long-range sanctions against Russia for this war is being implemented, and it is important that Russia’s war potential be reduced.<\/p>\n

“Peace is needed, and this must be evident in Russia \u2013 through concrete damage to specific facilities. Glory to Ukraine!”<\/p>\n

Ivan Noskov, head of the regional capital Samara, said air defences had repelled a “massive attack” on the region overnight.<\/p>\n

Authorities were still determining whether there were casualties or additional damage in the attacks, he added.<\/p>\n

The Savasleyka air base<\/a> was previously targeted in a Ukrainian attack in June 2025.<\/p>\n

The Progress Rocket Space Centre is responsible for the production of the Soyuz-2 family of launch vehicles, including the Soyuz-2.1b, which is used for the Rassvet system.<\/p>\n

According to satellite imagery of the strikes, the onboard electronics assembly workshop at the facility was probably hit.<\/p>\n

The Progress centre is the only facility in Russia where Soyuz-2 launch vehicles are assembled.<\/p>\n

Moscow is racing to build the satellite systems that could leave Ukraine vulnerable to more attacks, Politico reported.<\/p>\n

Maj Gen Vadym Skibitsky, the deputy chief of Ukraine’s military intelligence, warned: “They have begun launching it much faster than originally planned.”<\/p>\n

Russia launched the first 16 satellites of Rassvet in March, and a second package was launched in July.<\/p>\n

Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Mr Zelensky, said Russia had about 40 Rassvet satellites in space.<\/p>\n

Once the constellation of planned satellites is operational, Rassvet will become a problem for Ukraine and the rest of Europe.<\/p>\n

“Russians will be able to attack our entire country using [drones] with online control via their satellites,” Mr Beskrestnov said.<\/p>\n

Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit: X \/ @ZelenskyyUa Ukraine has struck a facility used in the production of Russia’s new satellite internet…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28645,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[10237,3015,10236,10115,25,26,506,35],"class_list":["post-28644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-launch-vehicles","tag-massive-attack","tag-progress-rocket-space-centre","tag-rassvet","tag-russia","tag-ukraine","tag-ukrainian-president","tag-volodymyr-zelensky"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}