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Ukraine’s General Staff said on Wednesday that its August 15 missile strike on a Russian space center had hit an engine-assembling workshop for Soyuz rockets as well as an aircraft maintenance facility. The Ukrainian military said its assessment was based “on the analysis of additional data,” while Russia has acknowledged an industrial facility in the area was attacked without specifying whether there was damage to the Progress Rocket Space Center. The assessment follows the posting online of satellite imagery apparently showing damage from the missile strike. The Progress center produces Soyuz-2 rockets that are regularly launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Independent confirmation of the extent of damage from the strike in Russia’s Samara region, as well as whether the strike might affect future Soyuz launches from Baikonur, remain difficult. The Ukrainian General Staff statement also said a fire spanning about 5,000 square meters was recorded as a result of the strike on the Progress center, which it described as an important military target. The center “is one of the key enterprises in the Russian rocket and space industry, involved in the production of ‘Soyuz’ family rockets,” the statement said. “The company's products are used, among other things, to launch spacecraft into orbit and to deploy Russian satellite communication groups for the benefit of the Russian army.”
Uzbekistan has formed a special commission after its citizens were killed in a drone attack on several locations in the Russian city of Nizhnekamsk on Monday. Russian authorities now say eight Uzbek citizens were among the 13 people killed, one more than Uzbekistan’s consulate in the Russian city of Kazan initially reported. A Tajik citizen was also reported among the dead. Moscow blamed Ukraine for the attack, the latest in a campaign of long-range strikes by the Ukrainian military in the long-running war with Russia. Ukraine has often targeted oil facilities in an attempt to undermine a key source of revenue for Russia, though there were conflicting accounts of what was hit in the Nizhnekamsk attack. Ukraine’s General Staff said it hit an oil refinery and caused a fire, while local Russian officials said residential areas as well as industrial facilities were hit, and a child was among those killed. Uzbekistan’s consulate in Kazan did not name the Uzbek nationals who died in the attack on Monday and did not provide any further personal information. The consulate initially put the Uzbek death toll at seven. Azattyq Asia subsequently reported that Russian authorities put the number at eight. Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry said one Tajik citizen was also killed. “Necessary contacts have been established with local responsible authorities, agencies, and investigative bodies to clarify the details of the incident,” the consulate said. “We would like to inform you that the necessary arrangements are being made to repatriate the bodies of the deceased citizens to their homeland after the completion of forensic examinations and the necessary official procedures.” The consulate quoted law enforcement agencies in Tatarstan, the region of Russia where Nizhnekamsk is located, as saying that 13 people were killed and 39 people were injured in the drone strikes. Nizhnekamsk is a major industrial center that lies about 900 kilometers east of Moscow.
