Ukrainian long-range missiles have struck a major military centre inside Russia which is home to Vladimir Putin‘s ‘Flying Kremlin’ doomsday plane.
The strikes hit Taganrog, a city of about a quarter of a million people in the Rostov region, causing ten loud explosions and bright flashes.
Initial reports said there were two possible targets – the Beriev Aircraft Company, which maintains some of Putin’s most important planes, and the Krasny Hydropress plant, which makes key missile elements and is part of Russia’s Tactical Missile Weapons Corporation.
Putin’s Ilyushin Il-80 Maxdome plane – for use in nuclear war – is maintained at the Beriev plant.
It also equips Russia’s A-50 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) spy planes – two of which have been downed in the war at a cost of £260 million each.
A large number of fire trucks were reported to be heading to the plant and at least ten explosions were heard by locals.
The scale of the damage is not clear but 14 cars parked at the facility – also known as the Beriev Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex – were set ablaze.
Some Russian sources said Ukraine had used its new domestically made Palyanitsa drone missiles to attack Taganrog, but this was unconfirmed.
Other reports stated that US-supplied ATACMS missiles had been used. Russia has repeatedly cautioned that Ukraine’s use of the weapons to strike its territory risks triggering a wider war.
Putin’s Ilyushin Il-80 Maxdome plane – for use in nuclear war – is maintained at the Beriev plant
The Beriev Aircraft Company, which maintains some of Putin’s most important planes, was a possible target in the attack
The Druzhba oil pipeline loading point in the village of Sven near Bryansk caught on fire overnight, according to reports
Taganrog mayor Svetlana Kambulova said: ‘The damaged area has been cordoned off by police officers.
‘A survey of the territory within a radius of one kilometre will be conducted.’
Acting governor of the Rostov region Yuriy Slyusar admitted an industrial enterprise was damaged but gave no details.
‘According to preliminary data, no one was hurt. The extent of the damage is being clarified,’ he said.
In the attack, reports said 27 residential blocks had been plunged into cold after a hot water and heating supply plant had been hit.
The aircraft plant is seen as crucial to Putin’s war effort, overhauling aircraft used by the airforce and navy as well as special purpose planes like the Il-80 Maxdome and A-50 Airborne Early Warning and Control planes.
Separately, a major oil production facility caught fire in the Bryansk border region in another Ukrainian attack.
The Druzhba oil pipeline loading point in the village of Sven near Bryansk caught on fire, according to reports.
A giant explosion and fireball was seen in videos, and the ASTRA Telegram channel said a refinery had been hit and showed flames leaping into the sky.
A giant explosion and fireball was seen in videos, and the ASTRA Telegram channel said a refinery had been hit and showed flames leaping into the sky
Ten aircraft-type strike drones were reported to have been involved in attacks on Bryansk region
Some reports suggested that last night’s fire in Bryansk broke out after an attack on a production facility nearby
Ten aircraft-type strike drones were reported to have been involved in attacks on Bryansk region.
The Druzhba oil pipeline is fundamental to supplies of oil from Russia to Europe, and is still partially operational despite Western sanctions over the war.
The Soviet-built pipeline pumps oil from the fields in Western Siberia and the Caspian Sea to the markets of Europe.
It runs through the Bryansk region, as does the Baltic Pipeline System (BPS) which runs to the Baltic Sea.
The Druzhba oil pipeline is fundamental to supplies of oil from Russia to Europe (pictured in Hungary)
Some reports suggested that last night’s fire broke out after an attack on a production facility nearby.
Russia’s defence ministry said its air defence units destroyed 14 Ukrainian drones overnight over the Bryansk region that borders Ukraine. It did not say what was hit.
Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz said on his Telegram channel that a production facility caught a short-lived fire as result of the attack. He did not say what facility was damaged.
Ukraine’s military said in a statement that it had caused a ‘massive fire’ at an oil depot with a strike on the Bryansk region.
