KYIV STRIKE ON DRONE FACTORY IN RUSSIA
UKRAINIAN drones attacked one of Russia’s biggest oil refineries and a drone factory in the Russian province of Tatarstan, officials said yesterday, in what appeared to be Kyiv’s deepest strike inside Russian territory since the war began more than two years ago.
The attack on facilities near the cities of Yelabuga and Nizhnekamsk, located some 1,200 kilometers east of Ukraine, injured 12 people, Russian regional authorities said.
In recent months, Russian refineries and oil terminals have become priority targets of Ukrainian drone attacks, part of stepped-up assaults on Russian territory.
Ukrainian drone developers have been extending the weapons’ range for months, as Kyiv attempts to compensate for its battlefield disadvantage in weapons and troops. The unmanned aerial vehicles are also an affordable option while Ukraine awaits more U.S. military aid.
Neither side currently has the capacity to make much of a dent on the around 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line.
Ukrainian security and intelligence officials said they targeted a “drone-production site” in Yelabuga, Tatarstan, using Ukrainianproduced long-range drones. Tatarstan is known for its industrialization, and a factory near Yelabuga has reportedly built Iraniandesigned Shahed exploding drones.
Refinery
The Ukrainian officials also said that intelligence services were involved in an overnight attack on the Nizhnekamsk oil refinery.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Kyiv was trying to divert attention from its military setbacks by attempting to strike the Russian territory “to persuade its Western sponsors that it remains capable to confront the Russian military”.
In a meeting with the top military brass, Shoigu claimed Russian troops gained more than 400 sq kms since the start of the year.