KYIV, Ukraine (BN24) — A Ukrainian drone strike on a defense facility in central Russia killed at least three people and wounded 35 others, Russian officials said Tuesday, underscoring Kyiv’s resolve to target military production deep inside Russian territory.
Alexander Brechalov, the governor of Russia’s Udmurt Republic, said the attack struck an industrial plant in the city of Izhevsk, about 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) from the Ukrainian border. Ten of the wounded were reported in serious condition.
While Ukraine’s government did not issue an official statement, a Ukrainian security official confirmed to Reuters that the country’s forces had targeted the Kupol plant, which manufactures air defense systems and drones for the Russian army. The strike triggered a fire at the site.
“Each such special operation reduces the enemy’s offensive potential, disrupts military production chains and demonstrates that even deep in Russia’s rear, there are no safe zones for its military infrastructure,” an unnamed official from Ukraine’s Security Service told AFP in written remarks.
If fully verified, the attack would rank among the most far-reaching Ukrainian strikes inside Russia since President Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion in February 2022. The distance, however, is shorter than a strike last year that Ukraine said destroyed an early-warning radar in the city of Orsk, some 1,800 kilometers (1,120 miles) from Ukrainian-held territory.
The drone assault came only a day after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to accelerate Ukraine’s production of unmanned systems to counter the rising tide of Russian drone attacks.
“The priority is drones, interceptor drones and long-range strike drones,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram late Monday, emphasizing that Kyiv plans to scale up its manufacturing to respond to Russian bombardment.
According to an AFP analysis, Moscow launched more than 5,400 long-range drones into Ukrainian territory last month alone, the highest monthly total so far.
The Ukrainian military’s top commander previously pledged to expand the “scale and depth” of strikes targeting Russia’s military infrastructure, signaling that attacks like the Izhevsk operation could become more frequent.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin rejected accusations that it was deliberately delaying ceasefire talks after Keith Kellogg, a special envoy for U.S. President Donald Trump, charged Russia with stalling negotiations while continuing to bomb civilian targets. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the claim and insisted Moscow was “not interested in drawing out anything.”
A third round of negotiations between the two sides has yet to be scheduled.
Elsewhere, a Russian-installed official in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk declared that Moscow’s forces had established full control over the territory. Kyiv has not publicly commented on that assertion.
