Ukraine claims hit on defense plant in Russian heartland

Ukraine’s armed forces said it targeted a major Russian military production facility in Dzerzhinsk, about 560 miles away from the front lines.

The drone attack in the Nizhny Novgorod region was carried out by Ukraine’s security service, intelligence directorate and special operations forces, the Ukrainian General Staff said in a Facebook post on Sunday. The claim couldn’t be independently verified.

The General Staff said its overnight efforts extended to the Lipetsk-2 military air base in Russia’s western region of Lipetsk, to target “ammunition depots, storage places for fuel and lubricants, and aviation equipment” including advanced fighter jets stationed there.

The Sverdlov defense complex is known to produce explosives and a variety of aviation and artillery ammunition, including aerial bombs and warheads for various types of missiles. The facility is on the U.S. and European Union sanctions list.

“Numerous explosions were recorded in the areas of both objects,” and Russian air defense was also apparent, Ukraine said, adding that “the results of the damage are being clarified.”

It’s the latest example of Kyiv’s troops using UAVs to target Russian military facilities, including ammunition storehouses, even as Ukraine presses allies to lift restrictions on the use of Western long-range weapons to strike deep inside Russia.

Russian authorities confirmed a drone attack in the region - among more than 100 UAVs fired by Ukraine overnight - but didn’t identify the target. Nizhny Novgorod governor Gleb Nikitin said on his Telegram channel that the attack had been repelled and that four firefighters received light injuries from debris.

Unverified images on social media appeared to show fire and explosions during the night. Comparing the footage to video from previous strikes on Russian military arsenals, though, suggest the damage may have been limited.

The Sverdlov plant, named after a Russian revolutionary and located about 370km east of Moscow, was previously targeted by Ukraine earlier this year.

Over the past month, Ukraine’s special services have spearheaded attacks on Russian ammunition caches which in some cases have led to the evacuation of local residents. No evacuations were reported in Dzerzhinsk overnight.

Russia’s defense ministry in a statement said they intercepted 110 Ukrainian drones overnight, including one shot down near Moscow.

Russian authorities, citing unspecified security concerns, briefly closed down the international airport in Kazan on Sunday morning. The city will host dozens of world leaders for a BRICS summit starting on Tuesday. The airport reopened within a few hours.

Separately, Ukraine said a Russian missile strike on Kyrvyi Rih, the home town of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, injured at least 17 people with residential blocks, shops and schools damaged.

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(With assistance from Daryna Krasnolutska and Aliaksandr Kudrytski.)