NurPhoto via Getty ImagesUkraine’s military said Tuesday it had struck a Russian chemical plant with Storm Shadow missiles, citing British-made long-range weapons.
The Ukrainian military’s general staff called the attack a “successful strike” that penetrated Russian air defense systems and said it was still assessing the consequences of the “large-scale” attack.
The Kremlin has warned the West not to provide Ukraine with weapons capable of long-range attacks, but Kiev has said it is essential to target Russian facilities that play a key role in Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
“The Bryansk chemical plant is a key facility of the military-industrial complex of the aggressor country,” the Ukrainian military said Tuesday through X-Post.
The plant “produces gunpowder, explosives and rocket fuel components used in ammunition and missiles used by the enemy to shell Ukrainian territory,” he added.
Moscow authorities have not yet commented on the strike.
The attack came on the same day that British Prime Minister Sir Kyr Starmer and other European leaders pledged to “increase pressure on the Russian economy and defense industry” until Russian leader Vladimir Putin is “ready to make peace.”
“Ukraine must be in the strongest position before, during and after the ceasefire,” added the joint statement, co-signed by the leaders of Ukraine, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Denmark, Finland, the EU and Norway.
Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said Russia carried out overnight airstrikes on the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Wednesday morning.
Witnesses heard explosions that sounded like air defense units were operating, Reuters reported.
The attack came after President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met at the White House last week. During the meeting, the U.S. leader said he was not prepared to supply Kiev with the popular Tomahawk cruise missiles.
President Trump initially agreed to meet with President Putin in Budapest in the coming weeks regarding the war in Ukraine. But those plans were put on hold Tuesday, with President Trump saying he did not want a “wasteful meeting.”
In a speech at the White House, the US president pointed out that Russia’s current refusal to stop fighting on the front lines is a major obstacle.
Last month, Trump appeared to significantly shift his stance toward ending the war, saying Kiev could “bring all of Ukraine back to its original form.” This refers to Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders.
Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia currently controls about 20% of Ukraine’s territory, including southern Moscow in Crimea, which was annexed in 2014.
