In 2023, this plant came under international sanctions due to Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
Ukrainian drones targeted the VNIIR-Progress plant, which produced components for Shahed drones, UMPK kits, and other details for Russian precision-guided weapons.
UMPK is a Russian-developed munition guidance system designed to convert unguided Soviet-era aerial bombs into precision-guided glide bombs. It attaches to conventional bombs like the FAB-250, FAB-500, FAB-1500, and FAB-3000.
Ukraine’s General Staff has officially confirmed that the Russian defense industry enterprise, JSC VNIIR-Progress, was struck as part of an operation to degrade the enemy’s capacity to manufacture air-attack systems.
“The facility was confirmed hit by at least two unmanned aerial vehicles, followed by a large-scale fire,” the General Staff has reported.After the strike, powerful explosions were heard in the city, and the plant halted production, UNIAN writes.
“Two unmanned aerial vehicles crashed on the premises of JSC VNIIR, prompting a decision to suspend operations,” says Oleg Nikolaev, head of Russia's Chuvashia Republic.Besides Cheboksary, drone strikes also targeted facilities in Nizhny Novgorod, Tambov, and Voronezh regions. Aviation restrictions were imposed in Kazan, Saratov, and other Russian cities.
