Ukraine deploys Flamingo for first combat use in Crimea strikes

Ukrainian forces used a newly developed long range cruise missile known as the Flamingo in strikes on Russian-held targets in Crimea on Saturday, Ukrainian military outlets and videos posted on social media said, marking what Kyiv described as the missile's first combat use. The attacks targeted an intelligence service base near Armyansk and a military airfield near Simferopol, Ukrainian officials and milbloggers said; Russian and independent outlets gave differing accounts of the weapons and damage.

Ukrainian military news site Militarnyi and state-aligned channels said three Flamingo missiles launched from the Odesa region crossed the western Black Sea and struck an FSB facility near Armyansk, killing one operator and destroying or damaging several hovercraft. Kyiv’s military intelligence agency, HUR, separately claimed drone strikes damaged or destroyed helicopters at the Simferopol airfield. Russian independent agency Astra confirmed an attack in the area but suggested the weapon used could have been a Long Neptune missile, and the Russian Defense Ministry had not commented by Monday. Satellite imagery reviewed by European Copernicus showed probable explosion and fire...