Ukraine’s defense intelligence strikes an aviation repair plant in Russia’s Voronezh region. Ukraine’s defense intelligence disables a warship of Russia’s Baltic fleet. Russia strikes an industrial facility in central Kharkiv with glide bombs.
Ukraine’s defense intelligence strikes Russian aviation repair plant
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, two drones attacked a pilot training center in Borisoglebsk, in Russia’s Voronezh region, Russian Telegram channels said. The facade of the building and windows were damaged. No casualties were reported as a result of the attack.
The governor of the Voronezh region, Aleksandr Gusev, said air defenses and jamming systems had detected and destroyed an aircraft-type drone over the region.
Drones also reportedly struck an aircraft repair plant in the same city.
Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency was behind the attack, sources in the Ukrainian security service told The New Voice of Ukraine (NV). Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Main Intelligence Department of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry told Radio Liberty that drones had hit “the main production facilities at the plant.”
According to Defence Express, a Ukrainian defense analytics group, Ukraine targeted the 711th aviation repair plant in Borisoglebsk. The facility repairs air-launched missiles, missile guidance systems, and ground radars, the web site said.
It is not known which type of drones was used in the attack, the analysts said, adding that Ukraine has large drones that can carry a payload weight of more than 100 kg.
The repair plant stopped making its annual reports public after government-placed orders were classified in 2021, the analysts say. But the reports from the late 2010s say the company repairs “air-launched guided missiles”.
“Since the full-scale invasion, Russia has been intensely using Kh-55, Kh-555, and Kh-22 cruise missiles in the attacks. They required a repair. It’s quite likely that the 711th aviation repair plant was doing some of the repair work,” Defence Express said.
Ukraine’s defense intelligence disables warship of Russia’s Baltic fleet
A fire erupted on Sunday at Russia’s Serpukhov small missile ship, project 21631 that was docked at a naval base in Baltiysk, in Kaliningrad region. The fire has seriously damaged communication systems and automation equipment. A source quoted by The New Voice of Ukraine (NV) attributed the incident to an operation by the Main Intelligence Department of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry. Ukraine’s defense intelligence posted a video to its Telegram channel purporting to show the setting of a fire inside the Serpukhov and claiming that the vessel had been “disabled.” The video also showed what were claimed to be blueprints of the warship.
The Serpukhov, a Buyan-M class corvette, was commissioned in 2015. According to Russia’s defense ministry, the vessel has a vertical launching system for Kalibr-NK long-range missiles. Russia’s Baltic fleet has 11 warships equipped with Kalibr missile systems, a Ukrainian defense analytics group, Defence Express said. The Serpukhov launched Kalibr missile strikes against Islamist militants in Syria from the Mediterranean Sea in 2016.
The missile system on the vessel can engage both land and sea targets. The outside cover of the hull makes the ship less noticeable, according to Russian officials. Russia has a total of 11 project 21632 vessels.
The Serpukhov was built at the Gorky shipyard in Zelenodolsk. It has a displacement of 949 tons. Until late 2016, the vessel was based in occupied Sevastopol as part of Russia’s Black Sea fleet. It was later sent to become part of the Baltic fleet.
Russia’s Baltic fleet has been substantially degraded due to the war in Ukraine and no longer has the ability to launch large-scale amphibious operations, Rochan Consulting, a firm that provides open source analysis said in a report in September 2023.
Russia strikes industrial facility in central Kharkiv with glide bombs
Russian forces struck Kharkiv with glide bombs on Tuesday. A civilian industrial facility was hit at least twice, the head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, Oleh Synehubov said. Four people were injured. The strike also triggered a fire and damaged buildings in the central part of the city.
All the injured are employees of the affected facility, Synehubov said. They are in moderate condition.
Lately, Russia has stepped up attacks on Kharkiv and the adjacent region. It carried out another major missile and drone attack on Kharkiv on Sunday. Local authorities are considering mandatory evacuation of children from the northern part of the region, Synehubov said.
Russia expanded its attacks, striking the areas that were not targeted a month ago. It also extensively uses the tactics of repeat (double tap) strikes to target first responders, he added.
Kharkiv was almost completely cut off from power after a major Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s energy system on March 22. Rolling blackouts were introduced in the region.
According to The Economist, the escalation of attacks on Kharkiv had Ukrainian military sources suggesting that Russia has resolved to make the city a “grey zone”, uninhabitable for civilians.