Russia strikes Ukrainian military airfield – MOD
The Russian armed forces have carried out a wave of long-range strikes, targeting a Ukrainian military airfield and an arms production facility, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.
In a statement on Tuesday, the ministry said its forces had “conducted a group strike using high-precision weapons and combat drones on the infrastructure of a military airfield and a defense industry facility producing propellant charges” for Kiev’s military.
“The goal of the strike was achieved. All designated targets were hit,” the ministry added.
While Russian officials did not specify the exact locations of the strikes, Ukrainian media and Russian Telegram channels covering the conflict claimed that the Vasilkov airfield near Kiev was hit, along with a military production facility in the city of Shostka in Sumy Region, in the northeast of the country.
Earlier in the day, local media reported explosions both in the Kiev and Sumy Regions.
Shostka is home to the “Zvezda” gunpowder factory, founded by the Russian Empire in the late 18th century, and the “Impulse” plant, which is Ukraine’s only detonator-manufacturing facility.
It is unclear whether the attack destroyed any Ukrainian aircraft, or what damage was done to the gunpowder factory.
Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine’s military, energy, and defense industrial facilities in recent weeks in retaliation for Kiev’s strikes on residential buildings and oil processing plants. Officials in Moscow insist that the attacks never target civilians.
The recent barrage also came after the Ukrainian military carried out a drone raid on a hospital in Russia’s Kherson Region, killing a health official and injuring the facility’s head doctor.
