Ukraine Strikes Russian Ammunition Plant Deep Behind Enemy Lines

Ukrainian drones have struck an ammunition depot inside Russia in the latest successful attack by Kyiv on a key Russian military site, it has been reported.

Often without claiming direct responsibility, Ukraine has used drones to hit targets deep inside Russia with the aim of curbing its military machine. Such attacks have been stepped up in recent months, sometimes coinciding with Russia’s repeated missile and drone stikes on Ukrainian infrastructure.

In the latest incident, Ukrainska Pravda reported that Ukrainian drones had struck the Aleksinsky Chemical Plant in the Tula region, around 120 miles south of Moscow, citing an unnamed Kyiv security source.

Explosions can be heard in video posted on Russian Telegram channels of the site which makes gunpowder and ammunition for Moscow’s forces. Air-raid warnings had started sounding from 9.30 p.m. Friday and multiple explosions were reported around six hours later early Saturday morning, according to residents.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian and Ukrainian defense ministries for comment.

An SBU (Ukrainian intelligence) source told the Kyiv Independent that hitting “weapons depots, military airfields and enterprises that are part of the Russian military-industrial complex reduces Russia’s ability to terrorize our country.”

As is common following a reported attack by Ukraine on one its military sites, Russia’s defense ministry did not mention the strike in its statement on Saturday, instead saying its air defenses had managed to shoot down 50 Ukrainian drones across seven Russian regions overnight, including Tula.

The others were in the border regions of Bryansk, Kursk, Novgorod, Smolensk, Oryol and Tver.

Ukraine’s interior department adviser Anton Gerashchenko shared footage in a post that said the plant produced materials used in the production of rockets and weapons.

Other social media channels posted daytime images from the scene of the attack, including pro-Ukrainian United 24 Media, which said that operations at the plant had been paused and orange smoke was visible.

The reported strike comes on the heels of an attack on an oil refinery in Saratov, nearly 1,000 miles from the Ukrainian border. This was carried out by Ukraine’s military intelligence service, according to news agency RBC, citing Kyiv’s military sources.

“After a month-long break, the Ukrainian long-range drone campaign against Russian oil infrastructure has restarted,” posted open-source intelligence X account OSINTechnical following the strike, next to nighttime video footage of an explosion.