Ukraine is reported to have launched numerous drones at Moscow and western regions of Russia with a strike reported on an industrial zone where a key arms manufacturer is located, a day after Ukrainian drones reportedly targeted a microelectronic plant that is crucial to Russia’s military.
The reported Ukrainian drone strike comes after defense ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) wealthy democracies on October 19 backed Ukraine's "irreversible" path to NATO membership. This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pitched his "victory plan" to the EU and NATO but failed to get the immediate membership invitation he was seeking.
SEE ALSO: Ukraine Live Briefing: Over 1,000 Strikes On Energy Facilities In 2 YearsRussian Telegram channel Astra posted a video purporting to show the moment of the strike on the industrial zone in the city of Dzerzhinsk in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region.
Located in the zone is the Sverdlov Defense Plant, a state-owned enterprise that produces explosives, industrial chemicals, detonators, and ammunition. It was unclear whether the plant, which has been sanctioned by the United States, was damaged in the strike.
Nizhny Novgorod Region Governor Gleb Nikitin wrote in a post on Telegram that the attack was repelled by air-defense systems and four firefighters were injured by shrapnel.
The Russian Defense Ministry said 110 drones had been shot down overnight, including 43 over the Kursk region, 27 over the Lipetsk region, 18 over the Oryol region, eight over the Nizhny Novgorod region, six over the Bryansk region, and one over the Moscow region.
SEE ALSO: Men Dragged Off The Street As Ukraine Tries To Tackle Manpower Crisis At The FrontMoscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin also confirmed that a drone flying toward the capital had been destroyed over the capital’s Ramenskoye district.
Ukrainian officials have not commented on the reported drone attack, which comes a day after reports that Ukrainian drones had struck the Kremniy El microelectronic plant in Bryansk city overnight on October 18-19.
SEE ALSO: U.S. 'Highly Concerned' About Reports Of North Korean Troops Joining Russians In UkraineRussian opposition outlet Astra reported on October 19 that Ukrainian drones struck the plant and noted it is one of Russia's largest microelectronic manufacturers and that the Russian Defense Ministry is one of its biggest customers.
Head of the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation Lieutenant Andriy Kovalenko acknowledged the report of the strike and stated that the plant manufactures microelectronics for Russian Pantsir air-defense systems, Iskander missiles, radars, electronic warfare (EW) systems, and drones.
Ukrainian outlet RBC Ukraine published photos showing what it said was the aftermath of the strike and damage to a building at the plant.
Aleksandr Bogomaz, regional governor of the Bryansk region, claimed on October 19 that debris from a downed Ukrainian drone struck and caused a fire at a "nonresidential building" in the Bryansk region.