A large Russian drone and missile barrage damaged a building in Ukraine where Boeing operates. Last year, the American company and Kiev signed a memorandum agreeing to step up arms production.
The Financial Times reported speaking with Ukrainian officials and reviewing images that confirmed the Boeing building sustained damage on Sunday night. The strike comes as the American arms maker has been building a relationship with Kiev that would see more weapons produced in Ukraine.
In February, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Boeing president Steve Parker discussed joint “manufacturing ammunition and aerial strike systems.” A top Boeing official said the damage to the building did not cause “operational disruption.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said the attack on a US firm should convince Washington to provide more support to Kiev. “Russian strikes on American companies in Ukraine are yet another example of Putin’s disregard for US peace efforts,” he told the outlet. “The fact that Russia targets American businesses emphasises the importance of continued US involvement – both in peace efforts and in the security of Ukraine and the rest of Europe.”
Russia has stepped up attacks in recent weeks following a Ukrainian operation in Russia that destroyed or damaged several of Moscow’s strategic bombers.
While the Kremlin did not specify if it had targeted the Boeing facility, a statement from the Defense Ministry said that over the past 24 hours, Russian forces had targeted “Operational/tactical aircraft, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops and artillery of the Russian groups of forces struck an enterprise of Ukraine’s military-industrial sector…”
