Ukraine’s military said on Monday its drones targeted the Sverdlov ammunition factory in the Nizhny Novgorod region of western Russia, triggering multiple explosions and a fire.
The plant supplies Russia’s forces with air and artillery munitions, aerial bombs, and anti-aircraft and anti-tank rounds, the General Staff said.
Kyiv also said drones hit an oil terminal in Crimea, causing a fire, and an ammunition depot belonging to Russia’s 18th Combined Arms Army.
Russian authorities confirmed a major raid by Ukrainian drones over 14 regions, annexed Crimea, and areas around the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, but gave few details beyond saying air defenses downed 251 drones — one of the largest barrages on Russian territory since the war began in 2022.
Gleb Nikitin, governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, said air defenses repelled an attack by 20 Ukrainian drones on a local industrial zone that includes the ammunition plant, adding that no facilities were damaged.
Ukraine’s long-range strikes on refineries and other oil sites contributed to fuel shortages in Russia in August, Kyiv said.
The government in Kyiv has made upgrading domestically produced weapons — especially drones — a priority as it seeks to counter Russia’s full-scale invasion and carry out deeper strikes that increase military, political and social pressure on President Vladimir Putin.
Uncertain over future levels of Western military support, Ukraine has rapidly expanded its defense industry, is sharing drone know-how with European partners, and is discussing potential technology and production cooperation with the United States.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine could begin exporting surplus weapons by the end of this year, using the proceeds to buy advanced systems it cannot produce itself. He said Ukraine aims by year-end to supply at least half the weapons its frontline troops need.
“Already over 40 percent of the weapons in use at the front are either made in Ukraine or produced with Ukraine. And the share of our weapons will only grow,” Zelenskiy wrote on X.
He said Ukraine produced and delivered 2.4 million shells to the front last year and is now turning out 40 Bohdana self-propelled artillery systems a month, up from 10 in April 2024.
“It is time to launch exports of our Ukrainian weapons — those types we have in surplus — so we can finance the systems especially needed for defense,” Zelenskiy said, in a remark seen as referring to the U.S. Patriot air-defense system.
He added that Ukraine already has agreements to begin exports to Europe, the United States and the Middle East, with purchases potentially starting by year-end.
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Source: Euronews, Associated Press