Local authorities report widespread drone attacks across several of Russia’s regions overnight on 21 January, with multiple strategic facilities targeted and residents evacuated from some areas.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that air defense systems intercepted 55 Ukrainian drones over six regions. The ministry stated that 22 drones were shot down over Bryansk Oblast, 12 over Rostov Oblast, ten over Smolensk Oblast, six over Voronezh Oblast, four over Saratov Oblast, and one over Kursk Oblast.
In Smolensk Oblast, local residents reported hearing more than 10 powerful explosions, RFE/RL Russian reports. The Smolensk Aviation Plant, which produces Kh-55 and Kh-59 missiles used against Ukraine, was reportedly among the targets. According to the Russian news Telegram channel Astra, a fire broke out at the aviation plant following the drone attack. Citing its sources, Astra says the drone attack on the roof of a workshop at the Smolensk Aviation Plant overnight caused a fire but did not halt operations.
Smolensk Oblast Governor Vasiliy Anokhin claimed that drone debris caused roof fires on several buildings and damaged windows of residential buildings. While confirming the interception of Ukrainian drones, Anokhin dismissed videos showing “drone raids on facilities and residential buildings” as “fake information” intended to “create panic and destabilize the situation.”
In Voronezh Oblast, Governor Alexander Gusev reported a fire at an oil depot in the Liski district following a drone strike on Monday evening. According to the ASTRA Telegram channel, the facility belongs to Rosneft and had previously been targeted by Ukrainian drones on 16 January, with the resulting fire taking several days to extinguish.
Residents of Komarovsky, a closed military town near Orenburg, were ordered to evacuate to nearby shelters due to a drone threat, Kommersant reports. The town hosts military unit 68545, which falls under Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces command and has a population exceeding 6,000 people.
The Russian Defense Ministry’s morning report on 21 January did not mention any incidents in Orenburg Oblast.
Ukraine’s military confirms the attacks
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed the strikes targeting Russia’s oil depot and the aviation plant:
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For the second time this week, drones from Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces hit the “Liskinskaya” oil depot in Russia’s Voronezh Oblast overnight on 21 January, igniting fuel storage tanks supplying Russian troops, the military said. The facility is owned by the state corporation Rosneft.
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In Smolensk Oblast, drones and Special Operations Forces struck the infrastructure of the Smolensk Aviation Plant, where combat aircraft are manufactured and modernized, resulting in explosions on the premises, according to the report.
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In the temporarily occupied city of Volnovakha, Donetsk Oblast, strikes targeted the command post of Russia’s 29th Combined Arms Army, with explosions and smoke reported in the area, the General Staff added.
The outcomes of these strikes are under evaluation.
Related:
- Russian Rosneft oil depot near Voronezh still on fire following Ukraine’s Special forces strike
- Explosives factory targeted allegedly with ATACMS in Russia’s Bryansk Oblast
- New drone attack hits oil depot in Russia’s Engels (video)
- Ukraine’s largest air assault targets fuel and defense industries in 12 Russian regions
- Oil depot blaze in Russia’s Engels on fifth day after Ukrainian strike
- Ukrainian opposition introduces bill to ban Russian oil transit
- Frontline report: Ukrainian deep strikes inside Russia cripple logistics and military command
