KIEV
Ukraine claimed on Wednesday that it struck a drone production facility situated in the Russian Republic of Tatarstan.
According to a statement from Ukraine’s General Staff on Telegram, the facility in the Yelabuzhsky district, located about 1,054 kilometers (655 miles) from the Ukrainian border, can produce around 300 different drones per day.
The facility was targeted by units of the country’s Unmanned Systems Forces, which specializes in drone warfare, in cooperation with other components of the Ukrainian military, the statement said.
Hits and explosions were confirmed near the plant, it further claimed.
It added that the attack damaged the drones’ final assembly point and that more information is being gathered.
The attack is a “fair” response by Kyiv to a Russian strategic military facility used to support Russia’s military actions in Ukraine and its attacks on civilians in the country, according to the statement.
Earlier, a Russian Defense Ministry statement claimed that the country’s air defenses downed a Ukrainian drone over Tatarstan at about 12.20 pm Moscow time (0920GMT), though no mention of the facility was made.
“Today, a drone was shot down by air defense systems over the territory of the Yelabuzhsky district. Emergency services specialists are on site, and all necessary work is being carried out,” Rustem Nuriev, the head of the Yelabuzhsky district, said separately on Telegram.
He added that there are no casualties in the attack.
