On October 21, the Ukrainian General Staff issued a statement revealing that Ukrainian forces launched drone strikes deep into Russian territory overnight. The targets included a military munitions manufacturer and a storage facility at a military airport in Russia’s Lipetsk region.
According to Reuters, the Ukrainian General Staff is currently assessing the damage inflicted on the enemy due to these attacks.
In response, the Russian Defense Ministry reported intercepting 110 Ukrainian drones that had crossed the border. They noted that one drone was shot down over Moscow, 43 over the Kursk region, and another 27 in the southwestern Lipetsk region.
Reports from the Russian Telegram channel SHOT indicate that Ukrainian drones attempted to strike the state-owned “Ya. M. Sverdlov State Owned Enterprise” located in the city of Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod region, approximately 400 kilometers east of Moscow. This factory is one of the largest suppliers of munitions to the Russian military and is currently under joint sanctions by the United States and the European Union.
The governor of Nizhny Novgorod region confirmed that drones attacked a local industrial zone, resulting in four firefighters sustaining minor injuries, but did not specify the exact targets of the drone strikes.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported via Telegram that eight Ukrainian drones were destroyed over Nizhny Novgorod. Meanwhile, SHOT relayed that residents reported hearing powerful explosions and witnessing billows of white smoke rising from the military munitions factory.
Reuters was unable to independently verify these claims.
