Ukraine says missiles hit military plant deep inside Russia

Ukrainian forces have carried out a missile attack deep inside Russia, hitting a major military plant overnight, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

He said FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles struck the drone and missile plant in the city of Cheboksary, in the Chuvash Republic, more than 900km (560 miles) from the front line. Local officials said three people were injured in a missile attack on the city.

Ukraine also said it had hit the Moscow-occupied port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, a Russian oil refinery in Samara and a "shadow fleet" oil tanker in the Black Sea.

In recent months, Ukraine's military has intensified its drone strikes on key facilities across Russia.

Kyiv says energy sites are legitimate targets, as they allow Moscow to continue its war effort. However, missile attacks deep inside Russia have been rare.

Russia's military said that its air defence units had intercepted or shot down 326 Ukrainian drones over a number of regions overnight.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's air force said it downed 181 out of 207 drones fired by Russia during that time. It also admitted 21 direct hits in 14 locations.

At least two people were killed and 26 injured, including two children, in four Ukrainian regions in the past 24 hours, local officials said.

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In a post on Telegram on Wednesday, President Zelensky wrote: "Overnight, Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingos hit a military plant in Cheboksary that supplies the occupier's army with components for drones and missiles".

He also published footage said to be showing a missile flying toward its target and plumes of smoke from a facility.

Ukraine's military later said the VNIIR-Progress plant had been struck and there had been a fire at the site.

Chuvash Republic head Oleg Nikolaev confirmed that Cheboksary had been hit, reporting three injuries. He did not say whether the military plant was damaged.

The FP-5 Flamingo missile has a 1,150kg (2,535lbs) warhead and a reported range of 3,000km, putting Russia's capital Moscow and other major cities well within its range.

Together with its Western allies, Ukraine has also been actively developing other types of missiles in order to maximise the costs of Russia's full-scale invasion launched in 2022 and force Moscow to seek a settlement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far rejected all negotiation proposals.

Last week, Putin said he did not see any point in meeting Zelensky after the Ukrainian leader requested face-to-face talks to try to end the war.

The Kremlin leader also insisted that Russian troops were advancing everywhere on the vast front line - although evidence shows that the front has been virtually static in the past several months.