In a recent statement, the Ukrainian General Staff revealed that Ukrainian forces launched a nighttime drone offensive deep into Russian territory, targeting a military explosives manufacturer and a storage facility at a military airport in Lipetsk Oblast.
According to Reuters, the Ukrainian officials are currently assessing the extent of the damage inflicted on the enemy.
On the other hand, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have shot down a total of 110 Ukrainian drones that crossed into their airspace. They reported intercepting one drone over Moscow, downing 43 over Kursk Oblast near the border, and destroying another 27 in southwestern Lipetsk Oblast.
Reports from the Russian Telegram channel SHOT indicated that Ukrainian drones attempted to strike the state-owned “Ya. M. Sverdlov State Owned Enterprise” located in Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, approximately 400 kilometers east of Moscow.
This factory is one of the largest suppliers of explosives for the Russian military, and it’s currently under joint sanctions from the United States and the European Union due to the ongoing conflict that began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast mentioned that a local industrial area was targeted by drone attacks, resulting in minor injuries to four firefighters. However, he did not specify the intended target of the drone assault.
The Russian Ministry of Defense communicated on social media that eight Ukrainian drones were destroyed over Nizhny Novgorod Oblast. SHOT further reported that residents heard loud explosions and saw plumes of white smoke emerging from the vicinity of the military explosives factory.
Reuters has not independently verified these reports.
