Smoke rises above Voronezh as Ukraine strikes key Russian military parts factory
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Editor's note: This is a developing story.
A large electronics factory producing parts for advanced Russian missile systems has been struck by Ukrainian forces in the Russian city of Voronezh, Ukraine's General Staff reported on June 22.
The Voronezh Semiconductor Plant, allegedly a producer of electronics for Russian Iskander and Kh-101 missiles, as well as for the Pantsir S-1 air defense system, was the main target of the strike, the General Staff wrote on Facebook.
Voronezh Oblast Governor Aleksandr Gusev reported a missile threat in the region at 11:40 a.m. local time. Within an hour, photos and videos showing large plumes of smoke rising above Voronezh and heavy damage to a facility quickly identified as the semiconductor plant emerged on social media.
Without mentioning any successful hits, Gusev said that three people had been reported injured in the strike. More videos emerging from the city showed collateral damage to residential areas.
Voronezh Oblast directly borders eastern Ukraine, with the regional capital located about 200 kilometers (nearly 120 miles) from the nearest Ukrainian-held territory in Kharkiv Oblast.
"The products of this plant are directly used by the enemy to manufacture high-precision guided weapons, with which the Russian occupiers strike the territory of Ukraine and kill civilians," the General Staff wrote.
Videos of the damage circulating on social media were quickly geolocated to the semiconductor plant, but the Kyiv Independent cannot independently verify the type of missile used.
"The products of this plant are directly used by the enemy to manufacture high-precision guided weapons, with which the Russian occupiers strike the territory of Ukraine and kill civilians," the General Staff wrote.
"The destruction of the facility's capabilities will significantly impair Russia's ability to produce new missiles."
Ukrainian forces carried out another round of long-range strikes inside Russia and occupied Ukrainian territories overnight on June 22. The General Staff reported a successful hit on a space communications center in Moscow Oblast, less than a week after Ukrainian drones set the capital's main oil refinery ablaze.
