Ukraine's latest drone raid has hit targets across Russia that Kyiv says were the locations of covert military facilities.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry and the Ukrainian Defense Ministry for comment.
Why It Matters
Facilities contributing to Russia's military efforts have long been key targets of Ukrainian drone and missile attacks. Following the relaxation of restrictions on Ukraine's use of Western weaponry, the attacks have extended in range, and Kyiv has targeted facilities such as drone manufacturing plants that contribute to aerial assaults on Ukraine.
The latest large-scale attack has hit at least three industrial facilities. If, as Ukraine claims, these sites operate as covert support hubs for the Russian military, the attack could have substantial consequences for Moscow's war effort.
What To Know
Russia's Defense Ministry said on Friday that during an overnight attack, it intercepted and destroyed a total of 40 Ukrainian drones over Rostov, Kursk, Voronezh, Bryansk, Krasnodar, Belgorod and the Sea of Azov.
Andriy Kovalenko, the chief of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council's Center for Countering Disinformation, said on Telegram that the attack targeted "camouflaged military facilities."
Independent news channel Astra reported that the drone raid caused fires to break out at an industrial zone in the town of Gatchina in the Leningrad region, which houses several factories. State-owned outlet Tass reported that one fire had engulfed an acetone production facility. The Russian Emergencies Ministry later reported that the fire had been extinguished. Astra, citing local authorities, said explosions caused the toxic chemical to spill out of the factory but that no casualties had been reported.
Rostov Governor Yury Slyusar said on Telegram that a fire had erupted at an unspecified industrial facility spanning 2,000 square meters as a result of a "massive enemy air attack." It was later extinguished, he added. Astra reported that a motor transport company, located near the site of the fire, could have been Ukraine's target.
A fire also broke out in Chaltyr, located in the Rostov region, as a result of the attack. The target of the strike was the Chaltyr Brick Plant, according to @NOELreports, a pro-Ukrainian account on X, formerly Twitter, which cited Ukrainian officials.
What People Are Saying
Andriy Kovalenko, the chief of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council's Center for Countering Disinformation, wrote on Telegram: "Russia passes off military plants as ordinary ones, trying to hide their real production. But everything is known."
Yury Slyusar, the governor of the Rostov Oblast, wrote on Telegram: "Air defense forces and assets are repelling a massive enemy air attack in the Rostov region. At the moment, 16 UAVs have been destroyed and suppressed by electronic warfare."
What Happens Next
According to local authorities, the fires caused by the attack have been distinguished. Slyusar said early on Friday that no casualties had been recorded as a result of Ukraine's drone raid, but that information was still being collected.
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