The Ukrainian armed forces attacked a large Russian ammunition factory, oil terminal and weapons store on 6th October with long-range drones, officials reported.
Kyiv dealt Moscow’s war machine another setback overnight as its UAVs attacked the Sverdlov ammunition factory in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region, the Ukrainian General Staff reported.
The attack resulted in several explosions and a blaze erupting at the facility, which is reportedly providing Russian troops with aviation and artillery ammunition, aviation bombs, and anti-air and anti-tank ammunition, Kyiv said.
In addition to the Sverdlov strike, Ukrainian drones also attacked a major oil terminal in Crimea, setting a fire in another attack targeting Moscow’s refineries.
The oil facilities have been a prime target in the most recent year of conflict, with Ukraine targeting over 18 major refineries in the last few months.
The attacks have led to fuel shortages throughout Russia since August, causing pain at the pump for customers.
The Ukrainian drones were also launched overnight against Russia’s 18th Combined Arms Army weapons stockpile in Crimea, the General Staff added. Russian authorities confirmed that Ukraine mounted a broad-scale drone attack overnight, and the drones were seen flying over 14 regions.
Although Moscow provided little information about how widespread the damage was, the Kremlin reported that at least 251 drones were shot down, which was one of the biggest attacks on Russia during the war.
Gleb Nikitin, governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, reported that at least 20 Ukrainian drones were shot down in the raid on the Sverdlov ammo plant, with no facilities damaged in the attack.
The nighttime attack proved that Ukraine can rapidly ramp up its defence manufacturing capability, with the nation negotiating a technology and production agreement with the US.
Already on the frontline, over 40% of the weapons employed are weapons made in Ukraine or with Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a defence industry conference in Kyiv on Monday.
By the year-end, the Ukrainian president stated that those numbers would be increased to a minimum of 50%.
Ukraine manufactured and supplied around 2.4 million shells to the front lines last year alone, Zelensky further added.
The mass production has spurred a boom in Ukraine’s defence sector, reportedly already set to export excess weapons production by the end of the year, Zelensky asserted.
He indicated that surplus sale revenue could be used to help Ukraine purchase advanced weapons that his nation cannot produce itself, including the US-made Patriot air defence systems.
Kyiv has already drafted contracts to begin exports to Europe, the United States and the Middle East, and sales could begin as early as this year’s end.
