Drone strikes sanctioned plant producing military aircraft control systems deep inside Russia [updated]

On the night of 11 August, drones reportedly struck the Arzamas Instrument-Making Plant in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, over 1000 km away from Ukraine's border.

The targeted plant manufactures equipment for aviation and aerospace industries, producing gyroscopic instruments, control systems, onboard computers, steering mechanisms, and testing equipment. The facility also produces flow measurement devices and medical equipment.

The regional governor Gleb Nikitin described the strike as aimed at "industrial facilities" and said the casualties occurred among plant workers. He reported that the attack killed one worker and injured two others.

According to Russian news Telegram channels Astra and Mash, local residents reported hearing explosions throughout the city, with social media posts including video footage of the moments during the attack on the facility.

Ukrainian Telegram channels claimed responsibility for the strike on the Arzamas plant.

[UPDATE] Ukraine's Security Service confirmed responsibility for the drone strike, with an informed SBU source telling Ukrainian news agency Hromadske that the attack specifically targeted the plant's production of components for X-32 and X-101 cruise missiles.

"Russian defense industry enterprises that work for the war against Ukraine are absolutely legitimate military targets," the SBU source stated, adding that the service continues efforts to demilitarize facilities that produce weapons used to attack Ukrainian cities.

Astra also established that the targeted facility positions itself as "one of the leading enterprises of the country's defense-industrial complex." Astra's investigation revealed that 20% of the plant is owned by the Almaz-Antey Air Defense Concern and that the facility operates under US and European Union sanctions. The channel also noted that the plant received the national "Golden Idea" award in 2020 for military-technical cooperation, and that as recently as Sunday, the facility had acquired new equipment.

Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that air defense systems intercepted 32 Ukrainian drones overnight, according to their official statement, though this figure could not be independently verified.

Just a day before, Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) conducted a historic drone strike on the Lukoil-Ukhta oil refinery in Russia's Komi Republic, approximately 2,000 km from the Ukrainian border.

The attack targeted and damaged a petroleum tank causing a spill, as well as a gas and gas condensate processing plant producing propane, butane, and gasoline. This refinery supplies fuel and lubricants to Russian forces, making it a strategic target in Ukraine's efforts to degrade Russia's war capabilities.