Ukraine reportedly launched a drone attack on a Russian chemical plant located in the western city of Tula overnight on Friday into Saturday, as per the country's security service. The Russian authorities have not yet acknowledged the attack.
The State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) stated that the Aleksinsky chemical plant was targeted by at least 13 Ukrainian drones, leading to explosions and the emergence of smoke post the attack. The staff at the plant were successfully evacuated.
The primary focus of the attack was the gunpowder production shop at the plant, which resulted in the emission of orange smoke due to the release of acids, as confirmed by the SBU. Additionally, damage was reported at the Aleksinskaya thermal power plant, with a 110 kV power transmission line being affected.
Social media footage captured the assault on the Aleksinsky chemical plant, situated approximately 120 miles (200 km) south of Moscow, carried out by Ukraine's SBU Security Service and Special Operations Forces.
The SBU mentioned that the plant is responsible for producing gunpowder and ammunition for the Russian army. The attack triggered air raid alarms in various regions of Russia starting from around 9:30 p.m. local time.
A source within the SBU revealed that a 'comprehensive operation' is underway against facilities within Russian territory that are linked to the conflict in Ukraine. The source emphasized that targeting weapons depots, military airfields, and enterprises associated with the Russian military industry aims to diminish Russia's capacity to threaten Ukraine.
The Governor of the Tula region, Dmitriy Miliayev, disclosed that an attempted drone attack from Ukraine was thwarted by Russia overnight, without specifically mentioning the chemical plant, in a statement issued on Saturday. Miliayev noted that the air defense units of the Russian Ministry of Defense successfully intercepted an 'enemy UAV attack' in the Tula region, resulting in damage to the glazing of a private residence but no casualties were reported.
The Russian Ministry of Defense also confirmed the incident, stating that the Kyiv regime's endeavor to execute a terrorist attack using airplane-type UAVs on Russian facilities was prevented.
