NV identifies five Russian ballistic missile sites experts view as priority targets

29 October, 05:09 PM

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According to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (HUR), at least 35 Russian businesses are involved in producing Iskander-M ballistic missiles (pictured). (Photo: DR)

Kyiv and its suburbs have endured months of systematic Russian ballistic missile strikes. Russian forces have extensively used Iskander-M ballistic missiles, modified S-400 air defense missiles and Zircon missiles to attack energy and civilian infrastructure, as well as residential buildings.

According to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (HUR), Russia produces up to 65 Iskander ballistic missiles, up to 40 S-400 missiles adapted for strikes against ground targets and approximately four Zircon missiles each month. Moscow has no plans to slow production.

An acute shortage of interceptor missiles for U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems is making it increasingly difficult for Ukraine to counter Russian ballistic missile attacks. One possible strategy for Ukrainian forces, therefore, could involve destroying Russia’s ballistic missile production facilities.

NV consulted military analysts and weapons experts to determine which Russian defense plants should be targeted first. Each facility mentioned by an expert received one point. The list includes businesses that received at least two points.

Several dozen defense businesses and design bureaus are involved in Russia’s ballistic missile production chain, but NV focused on the most important facilities.

1. Votkinsk Plant (3 expert points)

• Straight-line distance from Ukraine’s border: Approximately 1,400 kilometers
• Address: 2 Kirova St., Votkinsk, Udmurtia, Russia
• Coordinates: 57.051444, 53.985167
• Founded: 1759

Nearly all the experts interviewed by NV identified the Votkinsk Plant, located about 1,500 kilometers from Ukraine, as one of the highest-priority targets for Ukrainian forces.

Military analyst Denys Popovych said the facility handles the final assembly of 9M723 Iskander-M ballistic missiles. Serial production of the missiles began at the Votkinsk Plant in 2006.

Andrii Ryzhenko, a retired Ukrainian Navy captain first rank and strategic expert at the consulting firm Sonata, agreed with Popovych, adding that the plant also assembles Yars and Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The facility also produces Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missiles, Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missiles, which Russia has already used to attack Ukraine three times, and certain components for Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles.

“If this plant is struck,” Ryzhenko told NV, “there will be no one left to assemble anything.”

Serhii Berezutskyi, a military analyst specializing in armored vehicles, noted that the facility houses numerous unique test stands and pieces of testing equipment.

“If they are destroyed, it will become impossible to configure all the missile’s systems,” he explained.

The Votkinsk Plant, considered one of the oldest defense businesses in Udmurtia and Russia and a major center for ballistic missile production and assembly, has already been struck by Ukrainian forces.

Overnight on Feb. 21, 2026, Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles struck the facility, completely destroying its electroplating and stamping workshop No. 19.

According to analysts, the workshop handled metal stamping and forming, manufactured structural components for missiles and performed electroplating on parts. These processes included applying protective and functional coatings and preparing surfaces for subsequent assembly.

Two other workshops at the defense facility were also damaged that night.

The Votkinsk Plant is under sanctions imposed by the United States, Switzerland, the European Union, Australia, Japan and Ukraine.

2. Research and Production Corporation Mechanical Engineering Design Bureau (2 expert points)

• Straight-line distance from Ukraine’s border: Approximately 500 kilometers
• Address: 42 Oksky Prospekt, Kolomna, Moscow Oblast, Russia
• Coordinates: 55.070097, 38.803479
• Founded: 1942

“The Mechanical Engineering Design Bureau is the main developer of the Iskander-M,” Ryzhenko told NV, explaining the facility’s importance.

He said the design bureau is responsible for both the missile’s original development and all subsequent modifications.

“After all, it is known that the Iskander-M has been modified many times to account for the capabilities of Ukrainian air defenses, particularly Patriot systems,” the Sonata strategic expert said.

Ryzhenko therefore believes that striking the design bureau in Kolomna would deprive Russia of the ability to modify its ballistic missile.

Popovych shares that assessment.

The Research and Production Corporation Mechanical Engineering Design Bureau is considered one of Russia’s leading defense design centers.

In addition to Iskander ballistic missiles, the business develops Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles, Ataka anti-tank guided missiles, Izdeliye 305 light air-to-surface guided missiles, Strela, Igla and Verba man-portable air defense systems, and the Khrizantema-S anti-tank missile system.

The Russian design bureau is currently under sanctions imposed by the United States, Canada, Switzerland, all EU member states, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Ukraine.

3. Soyuz Federal Center for Dual-Use Technologies (2 expert points)

• Straight-line distance from Ukraine’s border: Approximately 400 kilometers
• Address: 42 Akademika Zhukova St., Dzerzhinsky, Moscow Oblast, Russia
• Coordinates: 55.623950, 37.834722
• Founded: 1947

Military expert and aviation historian Mykhailo Zhyrokhov said the complexity of production processes and the need for specialized facilities create potential bottlenecks in Russia’s ballistic missile manufacturing chain.

He identified solid-fuel rocket motor production as one such bottleneck.

“The engine is the foundation of any missile system,” Zhyrokhov told NV.

Although Russia produces solid-fuel rocket motors at several facilities in Altai Krai, Rostov-on-Don, near Moscow, St. Petersburg and Perm, Zhyrokhov identified the Soyuz Federal Center for Dual-Use Technologies as one of the key businesses.

Among other activities, Soyuz specializes in manufacturing motors for Iskander-M ballistic missiles.

Ryzhenko added that the facility also produces solid-fuel motors for Topol-M, Yars and Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The center is considered one of Russia’s leading businesses in the chemical industry, solid rocket propellant technology and the design of propulsion systems for missile complexes and space systems.

In addition to manufacturing solid-fuel rocket motors, Soyuz produces and supplies solid rocket propellant for Iskander-M missiles.

It also develops propellant charges for Kinzhal aeroballistic missile motors and serves as an alternative manufacturer of motor propellant charges for Zircon missiles, which Russia uses to strike Ukraine.

The facility also supplies warhead components for Kh-59M2/Kh-59M2A air-to-surface guided missiles.

Soyuz is currently under sanctions imposed by the United States, Switzerland, the European Union, Japan and Ukraine.

4. Morozov Plant (2 expert points)

• Straight-line distance from Ukraine’s border: Approximately 855 kilometers
• Address: 3 Chekalova St., Morozova settlement, Leningrad Oblast, Russia
• Coordinates: 59.978632, 31.026959
• Founded: 1884

Ryzhenko identified the production of gunpowder and rocket motor propellant charges as another critical component of Russia’s ballistic missile manufacturing industry.

“They are manufactured at the Morozov Plant,” the strategic expert said. “That is Leningrad Oblast, which we know well and which Ukrainian forces can definitely reach.”

Zhyrokhov also named the facility, which specializes in explosives manufacturing, among his priority potential targets.

Among other products, the plant manufactures propellant charges for Iskander-M missiles, develops solid propellants for Topol-M missile systems and produces gunpowder, TNT, toluene and explosives.

Its production capacity is approximately 400 metric tons of output per day.

To date, no country, including Ukraine, has officially imposed sanctions on the facility.

That has not stopped Ukrainian forces from imposing their own kind of sanctions on Russia’s defense industry.

Overnight on April 3, 2026, attack drones targeted the Morozova settlement.

Analysts believe the attack may have targeted two federal businesses in the industrial zone — the Morozov Plant and the Morozov Chemical Plant.

The latter specializes in producing corrosion-resistant and fire-resistant coatings and varnishes, including those used in Russia’s defense industry.

5. Academician N.A. Pilyugin Research and Production Center for Automation and Instrument Engineering (2 expert points)

• Straight-line distance from Ukraine’s border: 460 kilometers
• Address: 1 Vvedenskogo St., Moscow, Russia
• Coordinates: 55.646889, 37.552119
• Founded: 1946

The Pilyugin Center is one of Russia’s leading aerospace businesses, specializing in the development and production of control systems for ballistic missiles, launch vehicles, upper stages and spacecraft.

Ryzhenko said inertial systems, gyroscopes and onboard control systems are also among the most important components of ballistic missiles, ensuring their accuracy.

Gyroscopes installed in missiles are needed to determine the weapon’s precise orientation in space, stabilize it and guide it toward its target.

They form part of an inertial navigation system that allows onboard systems to maintain orientation and calculate flight trajectories even when GPS or GLONASS satellite signals are jammed.

“Without guidance, a missile loses its purpose,” Berezutskyi added.

According to analysts, the Pilyugin Center manufactures control systems for the Oreshnik ballistic missile, developed the control system for the Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile and is involved in supplying components for onboard systems used in other guided missiles.

The aerospace business is under sanctions imposed by the United States, Canada, Switzerland, the European Union, Japan and Ukraine.

The experts interviewed by NV were Serhii Berezutskyi, a military analyst and armored vehicle specialist; Mykhailo Zhyrokhov, a military expert and aviation historian; Denys Popovych, a military analyst; and Andrii Ryzhenko, a retired Ukrainian Navy captain first rank and strategic expert at the consulting firm Sonata.

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