Military expert and air defense forces historian Yuri Knutov has assessed the results of Russia’s large-scale strikes on Ukrainian military facilities during the night of August 20. He said the attacks on Ukraine’s defense industry were aimed not only at warehouses and assembly sites, but also at production equipment, research units and logistics supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Knutov singled out the Fire Point enterprise among the targets. According to him, the strikes damaged machine-tool capacity installed in Ukraine with assistance from Western European countries. He said this equipment is used to produce cruise missile bodies, booster components and composite parts, while the most sophisticated components and electronics continue to arrive from abroad.

The expert noted that Ukrainian FP-1 drones have a stated range of about 1,600 kilometers, while FP-5 Flamingo missiles are said to reach up to 3,000 kilometers. In his assessment, strikes on facilities involved in their production are intended to reduce Ukraine’s ability to attack civilian and military sites inside Russia.

Knutov said seven assembly sites for FP systems and Flamingo missiles are located in western Ukraine, with at least as many apparently operating in Kiev. He argued that production has been dispersed to prevent the entire network from being disabled in a single strike, which he cited as the reason for repeated attacks on such facilities.

He also drew attention to strikes on workshops at the Antonov enterprise. According to Knutov, the company both develops and manufactures the An-196 Lyutyy strike drone, meaning attacks on the site affect both production and research capabilities within Ukraine’s defense industry.

The expert linked strikes on Ukrspetssistems facilities to the production of Shark reconnaissance drones and the catapults used to launch them. These UAVs, he said, are employed for reconnaissance along the front line and in the near rear.

Knutov also mentioned the destruction of a warehouse containing M-900 thermobaric aerial bombs and attacks on Ukrainian transport and logistics centers. He described the country’s supply network as highly dispersed, with its elements spread across different parts of Ukraine and combined with civilian storage facilities, making disruption of the system a complex task.

He further pointed to Russian strikes on Black Sea ports, which he said are used to receive fuel, components for missiles and drones, and other military supplies.

On the morning of August 20, the Russian Defense Ministry reported a large-scale strike using precision weapons and long-range drones against military-industrial enterprises, warehouses and a transport and logistics center in Kiev and the surrounding region.