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Two Flamingos Flew 900 Kilometers Into Russia and One Found the Wrong Roof
The morning after a Ukrainian missile attack on Russia, a satellite photograph revealed two enormous scars inside an industrial complex in the city of Samara. One building appeared to have suffered catastrophic damage, with a large section of its structure torn apart. The other had a smaller hole punched through its roof, surrounded by debris that looked considerably less dramatic from space.
Most people would have assumed the larger impact represented the more important military success. But the buildings belonged to different companies, and the difference between hitting one and hitting the other could affect something far more valuable than an ordinary industrial workshop.
One building belonged to an aircraft maintenance company. The other was connected to the factory responsible for producing the rockets Russia uses to send satellites, spacecraft, and astronauts into orbit.
And both had been struck during the same Ukrainian operation.
The weapons responsible were two enormous cruise missiles with a remarkably harmless name. Flamingo.
On August 15, 2026, Ukraine launched a long-range attack against the Progress Rocket and Space Center in Samara, approximately 900 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The facility…
