Ukraine deployed Flamingo missiles nine times in real operations, Zelenskyy says
Photo: Ukrainian missile Flamingo (Fire Point)
The Flamingo missile has already been used nine times in real operations. It is currently considered Ukraine’s most advanced cruise missile, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to Le Figaro.
The outlet notes that Flamingo is considered the best missile developed in Ukraine, although its manufacturer, Fire Point, "raises as much praise as it does questions."
The report notes that the missile's warhead is twice as powerful as that of the American Tomahawk, which carries about 450 kilograms of explosives.
The Flamingo was created without Western funding or official licenses, relying solely on the initiative of Ukrainian engineers.
This, according to Le Figaro, demonstrates Ukraine's ability to improvise and produce advanced weapons even during wartime.
The outlet highlights that the missile could become a "game changer" in the war, allowing Ukraine to strike military targets, depots, and airbases far beyond the front line without relying on Western-made missiles like Storm Shadow or ATACMS.
One military expert described the Flamingo as "the first truly strategic weapon of Ukrainian origin."
Le Figaro also notes that Ukraine is now discussing the development of ballistic missiles.
In his post, Zelenskyy said that together with the heads of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Foreign Intelligence Service, he identified priority targets for "long-range sanctions" against Russia in the near future.
Flamingo missiles
In late August, media reports said that Ukraine had begun mass production of its Flamingo cruise missiles.
Soon after, Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed the production of these missiles, adding that the Ukrainian-made Flamingo cruise missile is a very powerful and long-range weapon.
By October, The Economist reported that Ukraine had started using the Flamingo missiles to strike targets inside Russia.
On October 9, the German outlet Welt wrote that Ukraine had launched three domestically produced Flamingo missiles to hit an FSB intelligence base in occupied Crimea.
Recently, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukrainian forces have already gained combat experience using the new Flamingo missiles and that more strikes on enemy targets are expected soon.
The President also mentioned that there had been production issues with the Ukrainian Flamingo missiles, but the state order will still be fulfilled.
