(BRYANSK) – Recent satellite imagery has provided definitive evidence of the catastrophic damage sustained by the Kremniy El electronics factory in Bryansk following a precision strike by Ukrainian forces using Storm Shadow cruise missiles. The facility, a critical node in the Russian military industrial complex, reportedly supplies 90% to 94% of its output to the Kremlin’s high-end weaponry programmes, including semiconductors and circuit boards for the Yars, Bulava, and Topol M missile systems, as well as radars and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Detailed imagery reveals five distinct penetration points in the roof of the primary assembly workshop. Intelligence suggests that while six missiles were launched, five successfully hit the target, with one either intercepted or failing in flight. The strikes resulted in internal detonations that caused extensive structural failure throughout the building. This assessment contradicts claims by Russian state media figures, such as Vladimir Solovyov, who initially asserted that the damage was limited to a security checkpoint or “entrance area.”
The strike has triggered significant internal friction within the Russian information space. State propagandists, including Alexander Kots, have expressed outrage over the timing of the attack, claiming it was conducted during the day to provide “images” for Ukrainian media. However, this narrative ignores documented instances of Russian strikes on Ukrainian civilian targets during daylight hours, such as the July 2024 attack on the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv and the strike on a crowded pizzeria in Kramatorsk.
Furthermore, Russian state commentators have shifted from celebratory rhetoric regarding previous strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure to a defensive stance characterized by calls for “retribution strikes” against Kyiv’s government quarter and the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant. Despite these threats, analysts note that the Russian air defence performance in Bryansk has faced harsh criticism even from within Russia. Local residents who filmed the interception failures have been accused of “high treason” by state media personalities, who have suggested that such actions should carry the death penalty, citing Bahraini law as a precedent.
On the front lines, while Russian state television continues to report incremental gains in the Donetsk region, specifically the seizure of Holubivka, long-term supporters of the “special military operation,” such as commentator Yakov Kedmi, have begun to publicly question the strategic failures of the past four years. Kedmi recently noted that the Kremlin’s original plan, which anticipated a swift regime change similar to the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia, has failed to materialise.
