Navy confirms major damage to Russian drone factory after joint operation with SBU
Several large production halls have been destroyed at a large drone factory in Taganrog after a joint strike operation by the Ukrainian Navy and the Alpha special forces group of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
The Atlant Aero factory, among other drone parts and military hardware, produced Russia's notorious Molniya ("Lightning") drone, a cheap fixed-wing loitering munition used widely by Russian forces across the front line.
The announcement confirming the damage to the facility's production capacity was posted by the Navy on Jan. 16, after the SBU first reported the strike three days earlier.
Satellite imagery accompanying the post shows a cluster of buildings suffering catastrophic damage, while small sections of two other halls also appear to be burnt down.
The Molniya is an extremely cheap Russian fixed-wing, first-person view (FPV) suicide drone, the use of which expanded greatly on the battlefield over 2025.
The drone, with a higher range and payload than regular quadcopter FPVs, has proved to be highly effective at targeting logistics routes and entrenched positions.
On top of the Molnyia, the Atlant Aero factory also allegedly produced parts for Russia's Orion strike drone as well as Russian electronic warfare equipment and other related parts, the SBU had earlier detailed.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the claims made by the Navy or SBU.
Taganrog is a major Russian port city on the Sea of Azov in Rostov Oblast, just over 40 kilometers from the state border with the now-occupied part of Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast.
Over the past year, Russian military production facilities — including those located deep behind the front lines — have come under increasing attack as Kyiv steadily expands its long-range strike options.
