Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed Monday that it hit an aviation repair plant in Ukraine’s western Lviv region last week with an Oreshnik ballistic missile, marking the first time either side has publicly named the alleged target of the strike.
The military said it fired the Oreshnik in response to an alleged drone attack on President Vladimir Putin’s Valdai residence last month. Ukraine has rejected the claims, while the United States also said it does not believe the attack took place.
The strike marked the second known combat use of the Oreshnik missile, which is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads, according to the Kremlin.
“On the night of Jan. 9th, the Lviv State Aircraft Repair Plant was put out of action by the Oreshnik mobile ground-based missile system,” Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Earlier, Ukraine confirmed that a ballistic missile was launched at the Lviv region and released images of what it said were fragments of the missile.
Ukrainian authorities said a “civilian target” was hit but did not specify the location or extent of the damage.
When asked on Monday about Russia’s claim, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat told AFP that authorities in Kyiv “never comment on where the hit was.”
Residents of Rudno, a suburb of Lviv located near the aviation plant, told AFP last Friday that they heard explosions overnight, with some reporting gas outages.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed Ukraine used the plant to repair and service its Soviet-designed MiG-29 aircraft and F-16 jets supplied by Kyiv’s Western allies.
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