A Ukrainian missile and aircraft strike hit a chemical plant critical to Russia’s military machine, according to Kyiv, days after its efforts to get a U.S. pledge for Tomahawk long-range missiles faltered.
Ukraine’s armed forces said Storm Shadow missiles had evaded Russia’s air defenses and struck the site in Bryansk which produces gunpowder, explosives and rocket components.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities said a large-scale Russian missile and drone attack across Ukraine overnight killed at least six people and injured more than 20 in the Kyiv region.
These strikes follow last week’s meeting between Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky and President Donald Trump, who did not pledge Tomahawk long-range missiles for Kyiv’s war efforts as had been previously teased.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.
Why It Matters
The Trump administration has been working to reach a resolution in the war between Russia and Ukraine for months. Trump initially pressured Ukraine to make concessions and suggested territorial swaps with Russia. Last month he posted on Truth Social that with the European Union’s support, Kyiv “was in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form.”
But after a phone call with Russian President Putin last week and a meeting with Zelensky on Friday, Trump called on Kyiv and Moscow to “stop where they are.”
Ukraine had hoped the meeting would secure a pledge of long-range Tomahawk missiles from the U.S. to strike key targets deep inside Russia. Its use of British Storm Shadows, with a range up to 350 miles, shows that not getting the Tomahawks would not stop its campaign of strikes on Russian infrastructure.
Trump’s conversations with both Putin and Zelensky—and the shelving of a suggested summit with Putin in Budapest—underscore the complex intersection of diplomacy and military aid driving U.S. policy in Europe nearly three years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
What To Know
Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported that working with the country’s Navy and land forces, as well as other military units, Storm Shadow missiles struck the Bryansk Chemical Plant on Tuesday. The aftermath of the strike was still being assessed, according to Ukraine’s statement, which Newsweek has been unable to independently verify.
Bryansk is 220 miles southeast of Moscow and the chemical plant it hosts produces gunpowder, explosives, and rocket fuel components and had been sanctioned by the U.K. in September. The plant had also been targeted in previous Ukrainian strikes, some of which reportedly involved long-range ATACMS missiles.
In last Friday’s meeting with Trump, the U.S. president called for a freezing of the front lines, ahead of negotiations, which the Kremlin has refused.
Elina Beketova, fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) told Newsweek the reality on the ground showed that Russia doesn’t want fighting to stop.
“While everyone talks about negotiations, Russian forces continue advancing in the Donetsk region, hitting Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv regions. That’s why it’s unclear whether a so-called freeze is even possible—Russia is using this time to gain ground,” she said.
Yuriy Boyechko, founder of the charity Hope for Ukraine, told Newsweek the cancellation of the Trump-Putin meeting were evidence of Russia’s ongoing tactics of deception and manipulation and that once Tomahawks had been taken off the table, Moscow resumed its airstrikes.
“With the diplomatic charade over and Tomahawk missile support derailed by a phone call from Putin to the White House, the bombs immediately began to fall,” he said.
What People Are Saying
Ukraine’s armed forces wrote on Telegram: “A massive combined missile and airstrike was carried out, including the use of air-launched Storm Shadow missiles, which successfully penetrated the Russian air defense system. We are grateful to our partners for their continued support of Ukraine in resisting the Russian invaders.”
Ukrainian security expert Maria Avdeeva on X: “The only diplomacy Russia understands.”
Yuriy Boyechko, CEO of Hope for Ukraine, told Newsweek: “Each canceled summit and broken promise is followed by a new wave of terror targeting Ukrainian homes, schools, and power plants.”
What Happens Next
Russia’s overnight strikes on Tuesday on Kyiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, and the port city of Izmail, show Moscow is continuing its bombardment of Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. Meanwhile, Kyiv is expected to continue to target sites critical to Russia’s war effort.