Putin reeling as Ukraine kamikaze drones strike Russian cruise missile factory
Ukraine drone takes out Russian hideout
A Russian factory that produces cruise missiles has been hit by Kyiv’s kamikaze drones, according to Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence agency (GUR).
The disruption of the production of Kh-59 cruise missiles would be a huge blow to Vladimir Putin’s forces in the country – the missiles are one of the most common weapons Russia uses to attack Ukraine’s, often civilian, infrastructure.
Three out of four drones reportedly struck the Smolensk Aviation Plant on Sunday. Posting to Telegram, the GUR claimed “significant damage to the production facilities of the military enterprise of the aggressor state” had occurred.
Posting to Telegram, it added: “The Kh-59 missile of the ‘air-to-surface’ class with a range of up to 280 km is one of those that the Russian Aerospace Forces most often fire at military and civilian objects in Ukraine.”
The city of Smolensk is approximately 250 miles west of Moscow near Russia’s border with Belarus.
The independent Russian news organization Agentstvo claimed the factory had been struck on Sunday adding that it had analyzed videos published by eyewitnesses in the city.
Video shared by the outlet appears to show at least one drone falling on a building followed by an explosion.
However, Russia has denied that the attack occurred and claimed all of the drones had been intercepted over Smolensk.
Around 9am on Sunday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed to have shot down three drones over the city. Later it claimed to have downed two more Ukrainian drones. The head of the Smolensk region said there were no casualties or destruction.
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In recent months, Ukraine has launched strikes further inside Russia, including multiple on the capital Moscow.
Another weekend attack at Sochi International Airport on the Black Sea delayed 13 flights with one other canceled. Russia claimed its forces had “foiled” what it called a “terrorist” attack.
Elsewhere, Russia claimed to have downed more than 10 drones over the wider Kursk region without providing details on casualties or damage.
The efforts appear to be part of a wider effort by Kyiv to hit back at Russia which regularly targets Ukrainian cities and other civilian infrastructure.
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