A Ukrainian drone attack at an industrial plant in central Russia has killed three people and injured 35 others, a Russian regional governor has said.
Alexander Brechalov, head of the Udmurt Republic, said in a post on Telegram on Tuesday that the attack took place at a factory in Izhevsk city. Ten of the wounded were in a serious condition, he noted.
There was no immediate official comment from Kyiv. But a Ukrainian security official confirmed the attack, telling the news agency Reuters that the Kupol plant had been hit, with a fire breaking out as a result.
The facility, which produces air defence systems and drones for the Russian army, is located roughly 1,300km (800 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
If confirmed, the Ukrainian mission would be one of the deepest attacks of its kind inside Russia since the start of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion.
However, it is not as far as one Kyiv claimed last May, which reportedly hit an early-warning radar in the Russian city of Orsk, some 1,800km (1,120 miles) from Ukraine.
Speaking to the AFP news agency on Tuesday, an unnamed Ukrainian security service (SBU) official hailed the most recent drone mission.
“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,” they said in written comments.
The attack came a day after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would increase its drone production, following a surge in Russian drone attacks.
Moscow fired some 5,438 long-range drones at Ukraine in June, its highest monthly total yet, according to an analysis by AFP.
“The priority is drones, interceptor drones and long-range strike drones,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram late on Monday about Ukraine’s manufacturing drive.
The message followed a promise last month by Ukraine’s top military commander to improve the “scale and depth” of strikes on Russia.
In other developments, the Kremlin has denied the suggestion from one of United States President Donald Trump’s special envoys that it was deliberately stalling ceasefire talks.
Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Ukraine envoy, said on Monday, “Russia cannot continue to stall for time while it bombs civilian targets in Ukraine.”
In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed that Russia was “not interested in drawing out anything”.
A date for a third round of negotiations has yet to be agreed.
Meanwhile, a Russian-backed official in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk said it is now fully under the control of Moscow. Ukraine is yet to respond to the claim.
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