Russia’s war of aggression: Ukraine targets Russian aircraft factory in drone attack

Ukraine has targeted an aircraft factory in the Smolensk region of western Russia in nightly drone strikes. Several explosions in the city can be seen on videos on social networks. “According to preliminary information, the aircraft factory burned after the attack,” reported the independent internet portal “Astra”. There was no official confirmation of this. Governor Vasily Anokhin wrote of individual fire damage to the roofs of residential buildings caused by drone debris. At the same time, he warned against the emergence of fakes about alleged drone impacts.

The Smolensk aircraft plant, founded in 1926, is on Western sanctions lists because of its production of air-to-surface missiles. Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the Security Council’s Center for Combating Disinformation, which reports to the Ukrainian president, confirmed the attack. He explained that Su-25 fighter jets were being modernized at the factory.

The Defense Ministry in Moscow, for its part, reported the downing of 55 Ukrainian drones over several Russian regions. Accordingly, ten flying objects were shot down over the Smolensk region – Governor Anokhin reported 17 kills.

There was also a massive drone and missile attack on the other side during the night. Ukrainian air defense reported four missiles and 131 drones. All drones were repelled, it said. There was currently no information about the possible impacts of the rockets. According to media reports, one target was the large city of Dnipro, where there were warnings about ballistic missiles and explosions could be heard.