Ukrainian drones strike Russian missile component plant in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, SBU source says
Editor's note: The story was updated with comments by an SBU source.
Drones operated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on Aug. 11 struck a plant in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Oblast producing components for cruise missiles, a source in the agency told the Kyiv Independent.
"This morning, long-range drones of the SBU's Special Operations Center 'A' hit the production facilities of the Arzamas Instrument-Building Plant located in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Oblast," the source said.
The statement follows reporting about a Ukrainian drone strike in the area, with Governor Gleb Nikitin claiming that "two industrial zones" in the region came under an attack.
According to the SBU source, the targeted facility produces gyroscopic instruments, control systems, onboard computers, and component systems for Russian Kh-32 and Kh-101 missiles, weapons regularly used in attacks against Ukraine.
The plant is under sanctions from the EU, the U.S., Ukraine, and New Zealand.
"According to preliminary information, at least four drones of the SBU's Special Operations Center 'A' struck the target," the source claimed.
"Last night, an attack by the enemy (Ukrainian drones) was carried out on two industrial zones in the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast. Their targets were our industrial enterprises," Nikitin said, claiming that one employee was killed and two were injured in the attack.
"Specialists are currently working on site; the mayor of Arzamas, Alexander Shchelokov, is coordinating the situation, and necessary work is being organized together with the plant management."
Arzamas lies about 759 kilometers (471 miles) from Ukraine's border. Explosions were also reported in the nearby city of Dzerzhinsk.
Russian air defenses shot down 32 Ukrainian drones overnight across multiple regions, as well as seven in the morning, Russia's Defense Ministry claimed.
In Tula Oblast, Russian air defenses shot down 12 Ukrainain drones, Governor Dmitry Milyaev reported. A civilian enterprise was hit in the city of Tula, and two people were killed and three were injured, according to the official. Tula lies roughly 370 kilometers (230 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.
Ukraine regularly strikes military infrastructure deep within Russia in an effort to diminish Moscow's firepower, as it continues to wage its war.
On Aug. 10, a Ukrainian drone hit the Lukoil-Ukhta oil refinery in Russia's Komi Republic, roughly 2,000 kilometers from Ukraine. On Aug. 5, drones struck the Tatsinskaya railway station in Rostov Oblast.
