Ukrainian forces struck a factory producing missile components in Russia’s Bryansk region on Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, naming the site as the Kremniy El plant. Ukraine’s military said it used British Storm Shadow missiles in the operation and published a video it said captured explosions and fires at the facility.
In his nightly video address Zelenskiy relayed a report from Ukraine’s top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi and stated: "Our fighters struck one of the important Russian military factories in Bryansk." He added: "The plant produced electronics and components for Russian missiles. The very missiles that strike our cities, our villages and civilians."
The Ukrainian general staff, posting on Telegram, described the factory as "a critically important link in the chain of production of Russian high precision weapons" and said it produced semiconductor devices and integrated micro chips. The general staff said the target was hit and that "significant damage to production facilities was recorded," while adding that the extent of the damage was being clarified.
Russian regional authorities reported civilian casualties following the strike. The governor of Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, posted on Telegram that six civilians had been killed and 37 people injured, and shared footage showing him at the scene. In his message Bogomaz characterized the incident as a "terrorist missile attack" and did not reference the factory.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, writing on Telegram, accused Kyiv of intentionally striking the civilian population and called on the U.N. to assess what had occurred, describing the action as premeditated and directed at civilians.
The footage circulated on social media showed aerial images of multiple explosions and large fires across an area adjacent to woodland. Those images were matched to the location by comparing buildings, a road layout and a roundabout visible in the footage with satellite imagery of the area.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking earlier this month on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s 2022 invasion, reiterated a call for an immediate ceasefire as the first step toward a just peace and lamented the "cascading consequences of this blatant violation of international law," remarks that framed international concern over the broader conflict.
The announcements and footage released by both Kyiv and Moscow added competing narratives to an event that includes both military targeting claims and reports of civilian harm. Ukrainian authorities emphasize the plant’s role in producing components for precision weapons, while Russian officials focus on civilian casualties and demand international scrutiny.
At this stage Ukrainian military officials say the strike damaged production facilities and that the scale of that damage remains under assessment. Russian regional authorities report fatalities and injured civilians being treated in hospital. International actors, including the U.N. secretary-general, have publicly called for steps toward de-escalation but the immediate facts reported by both sides continue to shape the diplomatic and information response.