Massive explosions as Russian military base blasted with 'four UK-made Storm Shadows' as Ukraine strikes back | The Sun
UKRAINE has reportedly blasted a Russian military base with four long-range missiles supplied by the UK.
President Zelensky's forces are said to have targeted a former industrial plant that has been seized in the occupied city of Luhansk.
Ukraine is believed to have retaliated against the occupiers by targeting the Luhanskteplovoz, which is currently being used as a repair base for Russian equipment.
The former locomotive works was reportedly looted by Russian forces in 2015 before being transformed into a military post.
Dramatic video shows at least three huge columns of smoke eerily rising over the city as huge explosions rang out.
The repurposed industrial plant was reportedly ploughed with at least four fearsome Storm Shadow missiles supplied by the UK.
Locals reported hearing three horror bangs near the blast zone.
One witness told AIF: "I first heard sounds in the sky. It seemed that the planes were flying low, but then there was a series of dull explosions.
"A few minutes later, it exploded a couple more times."
The attempts by Russian air defences to shoot down the rockets are said to have been futile.
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It marks the fourth successful strike on Vladimir Putin's military in the Luhansk region in the last month.
But this shelling may prove the most effective – as Russia will have lost a significant number of troops as well as a key military base.
Soldiers will now be unable to repair their weaponry and tanks, which could give Ukraine a crucial advantage when trying to reclaim Luhansk.
The occupied city is the largest in the Luhansk Oblast, one of four Ukrainian regions the Russian Federation claimed to have annexed late last year.
Russia's state-owned news agency Tass reported that "several explosions" erupted as Ukraine launched rocket fire on Thursday.
The war-torn nation is believed to be making the most of the Brit-supplied missiles ahead of its counteroffensive.
Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles can travel up to 600mph and blast targets up to 350 miles away.
It means the weapons can hit targets at maximum range in just 35 minutes – travelling nearly half the length of the UK.
US military officials described the missile as a "real game-changer from a range perspective".
The devastating missile costs £790,000 and has onboard guidance systems to help seek out enemies.
They are designed to hit well-defended static targets like facilities, bunkers and bridges – including Putin's favourite Crimean bridge that was attacked last October.
The weapon works like a dive-bomber.
It cruises low over the land before shooting high into the sky and then coming down on its target from a near-vertical angle.
Russia has expressed fury that the UK supplied the long-range missiles which have been used to strike targets in annexed Ukraine, for example on the Sea of Azov in Berdiansk.
The missiles have also hit the blitzed city of Mariupol, which remains in Russian hands.
And previous strikes on Luhansk were reported to have used Storm Shadow missiles.
It was claimed Ukraine used the long-range rockets to biltz a chemical plant and a meat factory in the Russian-held city in May.
The war-torn nation is believed to have amped up its retaliatory tactics following the destruction of the dam at Nova Kakhovka.
Some 4.8 billion gallons of water barrelled along the Dnipro River and poured in the direction of Kherson, leaving parts of the city completely underwater.
Both sides have blamed the other – but suspicions firmly lie with the Russians who are believed to have planted bombs on the dam.
Zelensky claimed Ukrainian rescuers trying to save stranded residents in the flood zone are being forced to dodge enemy gunfire.
He alleged that Russian forces were relentlessly shooting while civilians were trying to escape their submerged homes, amping up the stakes of evacuation missions.
"Russian artillery continues to fire no matter what. Savages," Zelensky scorned.
"When our forces try to get them out, they are shot at by occupiers from a distance," he told Bild.
But Vladimir Putin's troops occupying the left bank of the river and a southern portion of Kherson are also struggling to persevere.
Some military has reportedly been flooded out of their defensive positions, drastically altering the formation of their frontline.
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The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that near-infrared imagery taken yesterday shows Russia's vantage points in Hola Prystan and Oleshky had been "severely damaged."
The think tank said the torrent of water is likely to have forced personnel to withdraw from their main concentration points.
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