- Ukraine carried out what it said was its “largest attack” against Russian military facilities.
- The operation early on Tuesday targeted military and energy sites across Russia.
- It marks Ukraine’s latest effort to degrade the Kremlin’s war machine.
Ukraine said its forces carried out what it described as their “largest attack” of the war against Russia’s military facilities on Tuesday, hitting targets — including a key airbase — hundreds of miles across the border.
A Ukrainian military drone unit, the 14th Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Regiment, said it attacked infrastructure at the Engels-2 airbase, home to Russia’s Tu-95 and Tu-160 bomber aircraft.
The strikes targeted an oil storage facility that supplied fuel for the bombers at Engels, a strategic base located nearly 400 miles into Russia in the Saratov region. It marked the second time in less than a week that Ukraine attacked the site, causing a fire.
“A multi-day complex operation to reduce the enemy’s strategic aviation capabilities has been completed,” the 14th wrote in a statement.
Closer to home, the Ukrainian military said that it hit a chemical plant in the city of Seltso in Russia’s Bryansk region and destroyed two anti-aircraft systems. Kyiv said the Seltso facility produces artillery and rocket ammunition, as well as parts for Kh-59 cruise missiles.
Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, a branch of the military that was formally established last year, said that drones were used to distract the Russian air defenses before missiles rained down on the site. Kyiv employed the same tactic in an attack on a warehouse last week.
During the huge overnight operation, the Ukrainian military also struck the Saratov Oil Refinery and the Kazanorgsintez Plant, causing fires at the sites. It vowed to continue striking facilities that provide Russia with ammunition, military equipment, and fuel.
Russia’s defense ministry said that its forces shot down nearly 150 drones outside the “special military operation” zone, a term Moscow uses to refer to its invasion of Ukraine. It mentioned the attack in Bryansk and said Kyiv fired US-provided tactical ballistic missiles but did not provide any details about the other locations.
Business Insider could not independently verify all the reported details of the operation.
The widespread strikes this week are Ukraine’s latest cross-border attacks inside Russia. Kyiv has used missiles and drones to target key military and energy facilities across the country as it looks to degrade Moscow’s war machine and complicate its operations nearly three years into the conflict.
The strike campaign highlights Ukraine’s long reach and its ability to threaten critical facilities hundreds of miles inside Russia using both locally manufactured and Western-provided weapons.
