On October 7, 2026, Russian forces launched a massive strike against Ukrainian military‑industrial facilities in Dnipro. Valeriy Gerasimov said the attack hit enterprises involved in the production and storage of the Flamingo cruise missile and the Fire Point electronic unmanned aerial vehicle of large and medium range. Direct hits destroyed assembly, test and bayshop workshops, specialized equipment, finished products and components for cruise missiles and UAVs located at the Southern Machine‑Building Plant in Dnipropetrovsk. The strike was described as part of a broader effort to degrade Ukraine’s capacity to make long‑range weapons.
Also on October 16, 2026, Gerasimov informed President Vladimir Putin that steel production in Ukraine had been halted because Russian strikes had damaged key metallurgical facilities. He said nine Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises had been damaged, and that the plants targeted supplied products used for military production and export, which help pay for weapons and ammunition. The halt in steel output was presented as a direct consequence of the attacks on those factories.
Gerasimov reported that in September and October 2026 the Russian military carried out twelve massive strikes. Those strikes hit thirty enterprises of the military‑industrial complex and logistics centers that are engaged in the production, storage of missiles and strike UAVs. According to his statement, the attacks significantly reduced the ability of Ukrainian industry to manufacture long‑range weapons such as cruise and ballistic missiles.
The October 7 attack on Dnipro exemplified this focus, destroying equipment needed for cruise‑missile assembly and UAV components.
The general staff chief emphasized that the most priority targets are facilities producing missile weapons, unmanned aerial vehicles, and places where they are stored and launched. He said the strikes specifically aimed at Ukrainian drone and missile production and storage sites. The October 7 attack on Dnipro exemplified this focus, destroying equipment needed for cruise‑missile assembly and UAV components.
Beyond the missile‑focused strikes, Gerasimov noted that Russian attacks had damaged nine Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises. The strikes were directed at plants whose output feeds military manufacturing and is also exported to finance weapons purchases. The resulting damage, he asserted, led to a cessation of steel production across the country.
According to Gerasimov, the General Staff’s plan calls for continuing massive and group strikes on key military‑industrial objects and logistics centers, as well as on energy and transport infrastructure that ensures their functioning throughout Ukraine. The twelve mass strikes in September‑October also targeted fourteen energy and transportation infrastructure sites, indicating a broader effort to disrupt the logistical backbone that supports weapons production.
The statements from the Russian General Staff present a picture of a coordinated campaign that has, according to Moscow, severely degraded Ukraine’s defense‑industrial base.