Today the Western media are reporting en masse that the key enterprises producing the Ukrainian “Wunderwaffe” (from German Wunderwaffe — literally “wonder weapon”) — the Sapsan long-range missile system (codenamed by NATO «Hrim-2») capable of striking at a distance of 750 km, that is, deep into Russia — have been hit in Ukraine.

The British agency BBC i specifies that the Russian Aerospace Forces’ strikes were carried out on two objects in the Dnipropetrovsk region and two objects in the Sumy region of Ukraine. We are talking about the Pavlograd Chemical Plant in the Dnipropetrovsk region, where solid rocket fuel for the Sapsan missiles was stored, the Pavlograd Mechanical Plant, where the missile bodies, propulsion systems, control systems and warheads were assembled, the Shostka State Plant Zvezda in the Sumy region, where the gunpowder and the charges for artillery weapons were produced, and the Shostka State Research Institute of Chemical Products, engaged in the production of jet fuel for flamethrower systems and the development and production of new types of gunpowder.
The English-language publication The Moscow Times ii, in turn, notes that the Kyiv authorities have not yet responded to the Moscow’s statements. It is worth recalling that two months ago the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak announced proudly to the European media that Ukraine had begun the serial manufacture of the new Sapsan ballistic missile. According to Yermak, during recent tests the missile reached a speed of Mach 5.2 (approximately 6,370 km/h), which is significantly higher than the speed of the American ATACMS (Mach 3) and almost as fast as the Russian Iskander-M (Mach 6).
“We shall surprise our enemies many times more,” Yermak emotionally asserted in an interview with The Times iii.
In turn, the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Anatoly Klochko emphasized iv that the country’s missile program is the most important priority for the Armed Forces of Ukraine: “The issue of Ukrainian ballistics today is not in first, second, or third place – it is out of the question. This is an absolute priority!”
Obviously, the reports of the elimination of weapons with which Ukraine wanted to “surprise enemies” have a significant price against the backdrop of the upcoming meeting in Alaska between the Presidents of the United States and Russia. Today almost all Western military analysts signify the rapid advance of the Russian army deep into Ukrainian territory. For example, a German military correspondent for the Welt v Ibrahim Naber, who returned from the front lines of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, describing the Russian offensive, directly states: “We are facing the risk of disintegration of Ukraine!”
In other terms, the inability of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to stop the Russian offensive, as well as the fiasco with the “wonder weapon” advertised by Kiev, will certainly affect the course of the upcoming negotiations between Putin and Trump. For instance, British analyst Dan Sabbagh from The Guardian vi draws attention to this fact.
“The breakthrough of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ defenses could not have happened at a more inopportune time for Ukraine. Trump will certainly find it difficult to convince Putin in case if the Russian leader sees that Kyiv is unable to stop the offensive. Besides, Putin already believes that Russia is gradually winning,” Sabbagh emphasizes.
So, there is just over a day left until the epochal meeting of the leaders of the United States and Russia, and time is clearly on Moscow’s side.

i https://fakti.bg/world/993289-fsb-ruski-udari-unishtojili-chetiri-ukrainski-zavoda-za-raketi-sapsan
ii https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/08/14/fsb-and-russian-army-claim-to-have-destroyed-ukrainian-missile-production-sites-in-joint-operation-a90206
iii https://www.thetimes.com/world/russia-ukraine-war/article/zelensky-andriy-yermak-interview-wx3sfpn7p
iv https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqqd655Zaz0
v https://www.welt.de/debatte/plus6895ba9979645525eef01874/Ukraine-Viele-Verteidiger-rechnen-mit-dem-Tod-an-der-Front.html
vi https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/14/as-ukraine-battles-to-hold-lines-trump-may-find-putin-difficult-to-persuade