Ukrainian officials in Kyiv have reported that their forces launched an attack on a factory located in eastern Russia. This factory is believed to be involved in the production of bomber aircraft for the Russian military.
According to Ukrainian news outlets, the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine (HUR) has reported that its drones successfully targeted the Gorbunov Aviation Plant in Russia’s Tatarstan region on Wednesday morning. Situated in the capital city of Kazan, this plant is responsible for manufacturing missile carriers and special-purpose aircraft, including the renowned Tu-22M3 and Tu-160M bombers.
The facility sits 435 miles east of Moscow and is approximately 808 miles away from Ukraine’s border.
According to sources from HUR, Ukraine is currently evaluating the outcome of its attack, and so far, no casualties have been reported. Social media users claimed that air raid sirens were heard in the Kazan area on Wednesday morning, followed by explosions at the aviation plant at around 10 a.m. local time, as reported by RBC-Ukraine.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced that it successfully intercepted and destroyed two Ukrainian drones earlier today in the Tatarstan and Mordovia regions. According to Artem Zdunov, the head of the Mordovia Republic, one of the drones was shot down over his region at approximately 8 a.m. local time. Zdunov expressed his gratitude to the “sky defenders” for their diligent efforts.
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency announced on Telegram that civilian flights at the Kazan and Nizhnekamsk airports in Tatarstan were temporarily suspended on Wednesday morning. The suspension lasted for approximately two hours.
Newsweek was unable to verify HUR’s report independently. On Wednesday, an email was sent to Russia’s Ministry of Defense seeking comment.
Ukraine has been increasing its offensive actions on Russian territory in the past few months. On Wednesday morning, they launched an attack on a military radar site located in the city of Kovilkino. This radio engineering center, which was previously targeted on April 11, is approximately 360 miles away from the Ukrainian border.
In a recent statement, President Vladimir Putin of Russia expressed that if Ukraine were to launch attacks on Russian territory, it could potentially lead Moscow to consider utilizing nuclear weapons in the ongoing conflict that has spanned over two years. This stance aligns with a presidential decree from 2020, which outlines that nuclear weapons may be employed in response to assaults on “critical state or military facilities of the Russian Federation.”
According to local media reports, up to 30 Russian personnel were killed and another 80 were injured in an attack on a military base in northern Crimea overnight Wednesday. Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern forces, stated that Dzhankoy was a legitimate military target but did not provide any additional details.