Russia Claims Destruction of Ukraine’s Sapsan Missile Depots in Fresh Strikes

The Russian Defence Ministry announced that its forces have destroyed depots storing Ukrainian Sapsan operational-tactical ballistic missiles within the past 24 hours, intensifying strikes against Kyiv’s growing missile capabilities. According to Moscow, the attacks also hit warehouses containing missile components, carried out with a mix of operational-tactical aviation, drones, ballistic missiles, and artillery.

Russian military sources further reported that an Iskander-M ballistic missile was launched the previous evening at the Pavlohrad Mechanical Plant in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, a site long considered crucial to Kyiv’s military-industrial complex. Ukrainian authorities later confirmed the strike and admitted the incoming missile “was not intercepted.”

The Sapsan missile system, also known as Hrim-2 (or Grom-2), has been under development since 2006 by Ukraine’s Yuzhnoye Design Bureau in Dnipro. Designed as a mobile tactical ballistic missile system with a reported range of 500–750 kilometers, it provides Ukraine with the ability to strike targets deep inside Russian-held territory. Its emergence has been closely watched in Moscow, which views it as a strategic threat.

Ukraine showcased the system publicly for the first time on 1 January 2025, when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy included footage of a Sapsan launch in his New Year’s address. In May 2025, presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak confirmed the missile’s first combat use. A month later, on 18 June 2025, Zelenskyy announced the start of serial production of new Sapsan systems, a program reportedly supported with German financial assistance.

The latest Russian strikes come amid heightened concern in Moscow over Kyiv’s efforts to ramp up indigenous long-range strike capabilities. This is not the first time Russia has claimed to target Sapsan assets—similar attacks were reported in July 2025. However, Ukrainian officials have remained tight-lipped on the extent of losses, underscoring the sensitive role the missile plays in the country’s defense strategy.

With Ukraine accelerating production and Russia prioritizing their destruction, the battle over the Sapsan system could become a focal point in the next stage of the war, marking another escalation in the contest between Kyiv’s defense industry and Moscow’s precision strike capabilities.