Ukrainian drones hit Russian manufacturing sites in Tolyatti, Taganrog

Ukrainian forces struck multiple Russian military and industrial targets on Sept. 12, including the Tolyattikauchuk rubber plant in Samara Oblast and FPV-drone production and air-defense facilities in Taganrog, President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukraine's military said.

Ukrainian long-range drones struck the Tolyattikauchuk plant in Samara Oblast and a fire broke out on its premises, according to Ukraine's General Staff. The extent of the damage was still being assessed.

"The Tolyattikauchuk plant specializes in the production of synthetic rubbers, monomers, fractions and high-octane gasoline additives," the General Staff said. "Synthetic rubbers, in particular, are used in the production of solid rocket fuel for tactical and ballistic missiles."

Known as "Russia's Motown," Tolyatti is located about 900 kilometers (560 miles) from the Ukrainian border and is home to Russia's largest state-owned car manufacturer AvtoVAZ.

Footage from residents of Tolyatti purportedly show Ukrainian drones flying over the city with a building on fire, billowing smoke. Other videos appear to show damage to a residential building caused by a downed drone, Supernova+ reported.

Previously, Ukrainian drones hit a rubber factory in Tolyatti on June 12. Ukraine's General Staff confirmed the attack, as well as damage to the plant, the products of which are used in the "further production of solid rocket fuel for tactical and ballistic missiles."

In Taganrog, Rostov Oblast, Zelensky said SBU forces struck an FPV-drone production facility, drone storage warehouses, an oil-products tank, a radar system, and a Pantsir-S2 air-defense system.

The city, on the coast of the Sea of Azov, is around 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the Ukrainian border.

Resident footage from Taganrog show large fires, reportedly from an airfield near the city, according to Supernova+, with smoke plumes rising into the sky. NASA's FIRMS (Fire Information for Resource Management System) shows multiple fires burning in the city.

Zelensky also said Ukrainian long-range strikes over the past day hit another chemical industry facility in Russia's Perm region and a target in the Black Sea. He added that Ukrainian forces had destroyed a Su-33 aircraft and two Mi-8 helicopters in the Krasnodar and Rostov regions earlier in the week, and struck an oil facility in Perm.

The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the extent of the damage.

The strikes come amid Kyiv's continuing long-range drone campaign against Russian manufacturing plants aiming to cripple industries supplying the nation's military.

On Sept. 9, Ukraine's Special Operations Forces (SSO) carried out Kyiv's deepest strike into Russia so far in the full-scale war, attacking a natural gas facility 3,200 kilometers (1,988 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sept. 1 warned airlines, insurers, and foreign governments that Russian airspace "will be de facto closed" because of Ukrainian drones.