Ukraine Says It Hit Russian Plant That Makes Iskander Missile Fuel Near St Petersburg

Ukraine says it has struck one of the factories behind Russia's ballistic missile campaign. The Ukrainian General Staff said on November 9 that its forces hit the Morozov plant near St Petersburg, a Rostec facility that produces solid-fuel charges for the 9M723 Iskander-M missile.

According to the General Staff, three production workshops at the plant were damaged. It said the full extent of the damage was still being assessed. The Kyiv Independent reported that it could not independently verify the claim, and Russia's Defense Ministry did not comment.

The General Staff did not say which weapon was used. Ukraine has struck targets deep inside Russia with long-range drones throughout the war, but the St Petersburg region lies roughly 860 kilometers in a straight line from the nearest point of Ukrainian territory, according to a Militrax estimate.

Where the plant is, and the production chain Ukraine says it targeted. Militrax graphic.

Hitting the missile before the launch

The strike fits a pattern. Rather than trying to intercept every Iskander in flight, Ukraine is going after the industry that builds them. The General Staff described the logic in its own statement, saying the chain was broken at its very beginning, long before the launch pad.

That matters because ballistic missiles are among the hardest threats for Ukraine's air defenses. On the night of November 6 to 7 alone, Russia launched 36 ballistic missiles at Ukraine, and only four were intercepted, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. Ukraine has repeatedly said it is short of Patriot interceptors, the main Western system able to stop them.

What the Morozov plant makes

According to Ukraine's General Staff, the plant produces solid-propellant charges for the engines of Iskander-M missiles, as well as explosives. It said the facility has also developed solid propellants for the Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile.

The Iskander-M is a road-mobile, short-range ballistic missile that Russia has used heavily against Ukrainian cities, energy sites and military targets. Every missile needs a solid-fuel motor, so a plant that casts those charges is a single point that many launches depend on.

The Morozov plant is part of Rostec, Russia's state defense conglomerate, which is under international sanctions. The Kyiv Independent reported that Ukraine sanctioned the plant itself in August.

What to watch

Satellite imagery is usually the first independent check on claims like this one. Until then, the size of the damage, and whether it will slow Iskander production at all, remains unclear. Militrax will update this story as more information becomes available.