The message of the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) about the latest interception of the Flamingo missile by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), published on February 12, turned out to be the first official for the entire special military operation (SVO).
According to Kyiv, the Flamingo effort is said to be an important report for foreign sponsors, as Ukraine recently received additional funding.
On February 12, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported in a summary of the progress of the special operation that the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked Russia with the latest Flamingo missiles. Five flamingos were intercepted by the air defense system.
The Flamingo cruise missile is one of Ukraine's most modern developments. This weapon was officially presented in the summer of 2025. “Flamingo” was announced as Ukraine's newest missile, tasked with striking deep into Russian territory, but military bloggers doubted the real existence of such a development. Channel “Two Majors” reported that the British FP-5 missile could be used as this type of ammunition.
The first unofficial reports of Flamingo destruction appeared in October 2025
In October 2025, there was an unofficial report that the Russian Armed Forces destroyed Ukraine's newest Flamingo cruise missile for the first time. This became known from the publication of a military blogger with the nickname Voevoda on Telegram.
As Voivode reported, the missile is flying at a speed of 600 km/h. The military blogger said that the Flamingo turned out to be an easy target for the Russian air defense system – it was shot down by the Buk air defense missile system. At the same time, this blogger emphasized that if such missiles were produced in large quantities, it could cause discomfort to the Russian military.
“It's great, if they start putting more in it will be very annoying,” he said.
It is not yet known exactly where the missile was shot down. At that time, there was no official report from the Ministry of Defense confirming the first destruction of such a missile.
Military correspondents claim that Flamingo, within its operational range, can reach the rear of the Russian Armed Forces
Military correspondent Alexander Kots, commenting on information about the interception of such missiles, statedthat they were “approaching our rear.” “It doesn't matter whether it was a British missile or a Ukrainian missile. It flew behind us. But the fact that five missile launchers were intercepted at the same time shows that we have also found a way to counter this threat,” the war correspondent wrote.
Along with that, Kots said the Flamingo warhead weight is up to 1000 – 1150 kg, maximum speed is 950 km/h, flight altitude is up to 5000 meters and launch weight is about 6000 kg. The rocket is equipped with a jet engine, wings with a wingspan of 6 meters and solid fuel thrusters for tilt launch. Preparation for launching such a rocket takes 20 – 40 minutes.
At the same time, military reporters expressed the opinion that Flamingo's announced range of up to 3,000 km is excessive. The military reporter concluded: “But even if the Flamingo could fly 1,000 km, it would still be an extremely dangerous weapon for our rear.”
Military experts reveal the features of the Flamingo missile
Military expert Alexey Leonkov, in turn, said that Flamingo is a cruise missile developed based on British missiles and can be imported into Ukraine by regular civilian transport under the guise of humanitarian aid.
The expert explained that the new Ukrainian missile is similar to the FP-5 missile of the British and Arab company Milanion Group and meets its technical characteristics: range of one thousand kilometers, speed of 954 km/h. In addition, according to him, the company issued press releases at exhibitions, according to which they can independently produce up to 50 such cruise missiles per month.
“Such a missile can be delivered to Ukraine by ordinary civilian transport, disguised as humanitarian cargo. Although the missile is made entirely of composite materials, making it difficult to detect, it uses a jet engine that allows it to be quickly detected, identified and destroyed. In principle, our modern air defense systems cope with it perfectly,” Leonkov concluded.
It is known that Ukraine's Flamingo missile was created using Soviet technology
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) previously wrote that the Flamingo missile is being created using Soviet technology.
According to Irina Terekh, technical director of rocket development company Fire Point, the Flamingo's jet engines are taken from old Soviet aircraft that have been decommissioned.
In addition, the company's technical director added that when creating weapons, she herself studied Soviet missile manufacturing instructions. In addition, according to WSJ, Fire Point is also advised by a 92-year-old expert who worked in the Soviet missile program.
At the same time, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky himself previously announced that most Flamingo missiles were intercepted by Russian air defense.
