Ukraine Claims "Flamingo" Hit Training Ground Where Russia Launches "Oreshnik". What Is the Outcome?

According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the "Flamingo" missile was able to hit technical buildings at the training ground in Russia. Collage: BBC

The report notes that during January, Ukraine's Defense Forces carried out a series of successful strikes on a complex of hangar-type buildings at the Kapustin Yar training ground in Russia's Astrakhan region. It is located approximately 600 kilometers from Ukraine.

Russia uses this site for testing missile technology, as well as for combat launches of missiles at Ukraine. In particular, it was from this training ground in November 2024 and January 2026 that medium-range ballistic missiles "Oreshnik" were launched at Dnipro and Lviv.

Павялічыць

Footage of "Flamingo" missile launches, likely taken on the night of January 28, on the territory of Ukraine. Photo: Exilnova+

Ukraine states that the strike on "Kapustin Yar" was carried out using long-range strike weapons of Ukrainian production, specifically the FP-5 "Flamingo".

This is the first information confirmed by the Ukrainian command about the use of this missile. Previously, data on "Flamingo" launches against targets in the Russian Federation only appeared with reference to sources and without specific details.

In November 2025, General Staff representative Dmytro Likhovy spoke of the FP-5 as an "experimental weapon" that still required refinement. Now, the General Staff emphasizes that the strike on the training ground in the Russian Federation led to "the destruction of part of the buildings".

"According to available information, on the territory of the training ground, some buildings received damage of varying degrees, one of the hangars was significantly damaged, and some personnel were evacuated from the territory," the report states.

What is known about the effectiveness of the strike

According to Ukrainian OSINT analysts, the "Flamingo" strikes on "Kapustin Yar" occurred on the night of January 28.

Telegram channel Exilnova+ reported that Ukrainian missiles hit the infrastructure of the training ground, specifically launch pad 105. The targets were pre-launch missile preparation hangars.

At the same time, another OSINT channel, "Dnipro Osint (Harbuz)", notes that the results of this missile attack are "not impressive".

According to its data, the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out several attacks on the training ground during January, specifically on sites No. 105 and No. 28.

"As a result of analyzing satellite images, a hit on the boiler room of site No. 105 was recorded," states the Dnipro Osint post.

The published satellite images indeed show a black spot on the roof of a separate building at the training ground. However, it is unknown whether this damage was caused by drones launched by the USB (Unmanned Systems Forces), "Flamingo" missiles, or something else.

Shortly after, the Dnipro Osint channel refuted its own report about the boiler room being hit. According to them, the spot on the building's roof was melted snow.

The OSINT community "CyberBoroshno" assures that a strike was indeed carried out on the structures at site 105, but it was done by drones earlier, not by a missile.

"As a result of UAV attacks on the Kapustin Yar training ground, two buildings of the pre-launch preparation complex for medium- and intercontinental-range ballistic missiles at site No. 105 were damaged," the report states.

In turn, the Exilnova+ channel published a video that allegedly shows the launch of "Flamingo" at the Kapustin Yar training ground in late January.

The video shows the launch of four FP-5 missiles from a platform. There is no data on where and when exactly the launch was carried out. The weather in the photo indicates that it was done in winter.

The BBC is trying to verify information regarding the damage to the Kapustin Yar training ground.

Павялічыць

Spot on the roof of a building on the territory of the Kapustin Yar training ground. It is unknown whether it is related to Ukrainian missile strikes. Photo: Dnipro Osint

Defense Express, having analyzed Sentinel satellite images, reports that the "Flamingo" missile strike likely hit site 28 of the training ground. It is known as an assembly and testing base, which was used during the USSR era for work on medium-range ballistic missiles.

"A comparison of available images between January 23 and February 2 confirms that something quite powerful hit this object, leaving a visible trace," the publication reports.

The photo shows a large black spot at the location of the hangars, likely after a significant fire. However, satellite images have low resolution, and the weather at the end of January did not provide good visibility to accurately identify the extent and cause of the damage at the training ground.

Павялічыць

Satellite images show signs of a large fire at site 28 of the training ground. What exactly caused it is still difficult to determine. Photo: Defense Express

Russian authorities have not yet responded to information about the strike on "Kapustin Yar". However, earlier the Russian Ministry of Defense reported the interception and destruction of four Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles on the night of January 28 over the Astrakhan region, where this training ground is located.

The FP-5 "Flamingo" cruise missile was publicly unveiled in August 2025. Its stated characteristics are: range up to 3,000 km, flight altitude up to 5 km, cruising speed 850-900 km/h, maximum speed 950 km/h, maximum airtime up to 4 hours. It has an extremely powerful warhead weighing about 1.15 tons.

According to the management of Fire Point, about 50 "Flamingo" missiles are currently produced per month, but there are plans to increase volumes to 200 missiles per month.

In an interview with the Ukrainian service of the BBC in December 2025, FP's chief designer, Denys Shtylerman, stated that the "Flamingo" missile had already been used several times for strikes on the Russian Federation, and the maximum distance was "more than 1,000 kilometers".

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