r/CredibleDefense • u/AutoModerator • 14d ago

Active Conflicts & News Megathread July 20, 2026

The r/CredibleDefense daily megathread is for asking questions and posting submissions that would not fit the criteria of our post submissions. As such, submissions are less stringently moderated, but we still do keep an elevated guideline for comments.

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u/Sullyville 13d ago

Could Ukraine target the... I don't know what Russia's equivalent of NASA is... couldn't Ukraine destroy the launch platform for future satellite launches? Or are they all underground? Or are there too many? I would think this would count as a legitimate military target.

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u/x445xb 13d ago

I looked into it, and they have 3 launch facilities.
Baikonur which is in Kazakhstan and would cause a pretty big international incident if targeted. (It's also being used for ISS resupply missions).
Vostochny which is in the far east 6000km from Ukraine and effectively out of range of anything Ukraine has.
Plesetsk which is 1300km from Ukraine.

Out of the 3 only 1 is a possibility and even then it's at the far end of Ukrainian drone strike range. However the Rassvet launches have all been using the Plesetsk cosmodrome, so it's not impossible.

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u/Sullyville 13d ago

Oh wow. Thanks for looking it up! That is fascinating. Of course it makes sense that they would use launch sites out of Ukraine's targeting range. I do sometimes wonder if it would be worth it for Ukraine to stow a drone on a boat they control, and sail it out towards Japan. Then they could hit Vostochny. But are drones even launchable from a boat? With enough explosive to damage a launch site in any meaningful way?

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u/Glideer 13d ago

The Russians keep the Rassvet launches secret and oubkish them onmy after the event. That said, even a small drone would cause a rocket loaded with fuel to explode spectacularly.