Vladimir Putin’s missiles strike British business factory as building engulfed in flames

It is understood all employees were in a shelter when the strike hit, with no injuries recorded.

One woman had an acute stress reaction, local media said, and was subsequently treated.

Firefighters are on the scene, extinguishing the blaze.

The factory, which has been under Bat’s ownership since 1993, produces Kent, Lucky Strike, Rothmans, Dunhill and Pall Mall cigarettes.

The cigarettes produced are exported to Belarus, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Croatia and other nations.

Bat is one of the biggest employers in Pryluky, employing more than 800 people, with 400 of them being in the city.

This comes after another cigarette factory was struck by Russian missiles at the start of the year.

A Russian attack damaged part of the Philip Morris tobacco company’s factory in Kharkiv.

Like today’s attack, no injuries were reported, but parts of the factory were engulfed in flames, with the fire covering an area of more than 5,000m².

Philip Morris said at the time: "The company is in constant contact with emergency services and is providing the necessary assistance.

"The company continues to fulfill its obligations to the state budget, partners, and consumers.

"We are clarifying the circumstances and will provide additional information if necessary."

Vladimir Putin has paused strikes on Kyiv for three days as he met with Washington envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff for peace talks.

The Russian dictator told the pair in front of reporters the situation in Ukraine was "not so easy", adding "whatever happens, such contacts are undoubtedly always useful".

Talks continued in private for three hours, the Kremlin said.

Mr Kushner and Mr Witkoff arrived in the Ukrainian capital yesterday to continue the diplomatic discussions.

Meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday, the Ukrainian president announced plans to widen peace talks to include European countries.

He said he wanted to do "everything to ensure that trilateral meetings take place" between Ukraine, the US and Europe.

Mr Witkoff echoed Mr Zelensky’s plans, saying such meetings would be set up "in short order".

British, French and German national security advisers joined yesterday’s talks briefly.

Mr Kushner said yesterday the conflict between Russia and Ukraine was a "long, hard and emotional war".