Third Drone Strike on Russian Missile Brigade in Shuya

In the early hours of Friday, April 25, Russian authorities reported a drone attack on the town of Shuya in the Ivanovo region. Shuya is located approximately 950 kilometers (600 miles) from the Ukrainian border and about 300 kilometers (190 miles) northeast of Moscow.

According to the Russian Telegram channel ASTRA, residents heard early morning sirens followed by explosions. Around 3:30 a.m., the local administration confirmed that a UAV attack was “being repelled” over the city. Later, officials reported falling debris and that emergency services were operating at the scene.

This is said to be the third drone attack on Shuya in the past two weeks.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed that its air defense systems shot down 79 drones overnight, including one over the Ivanovo region. As usual, Moscow blamed Ukraine for the attack. However, as of the time of publication, Kyiv had not confirmed its responsibility.

Shuya, located 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the city of Ivanovo, is home to Russia’s 112th Guards Missile Brigade. The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate (HUR), Kyrylo Budanov, previously accused this brigade of launching a deadly ballistic missile strike on the city of Sumy on April 13, which killed 35 people and injured over 100 – passersby, motorists, families walking on the sidewalks, churchgoers, and passengers on a bus were hit.

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On April 16, Russian sources reported that the 112th Missile Brigade in Shuya was targeted by drones in retaliation for the Sumy strike on Palm Sunday. Explosions were heard in the city, with witnesses filming the moment drones flew over and struck – followed by plumes of smoke rising above Shuya.

The following night, on April 17, the brigade’s positions were targeted once more, this time starting a fire. A source within Ukraine’s Defense Forces confirmed that HUR carried out both strikes on April 16 and 17 using domestically produced Liutiy drones, and said that the operation had achieved its objectives.

The Liutiy, which means “fierce,” is a Ukrainian long-range strike UAV capable of hitting targets at distances up to 1,000 kilometers (625 miles). Its reliability has been proven by a series of successful attacks on Russian oil refineries, fuel depots, helicopter bases and other strategic facilities in Sochi, Adler, St. Petersburg, Novolipetsk, Ryazan, Nizhniy Novgorod and Tatarstan.

In terms of design and appearance, the Liutiy resembles the Turkish Bayraktar-TB2, having a similar fuselage and tail assembly which ensure excellent aerodynamic performance and low fuel consumption.

Constructed of light materials, mostly fiberglass, the UAV can carry a 50-kilogram (110-pound) warhead, which can be increased to 75 kilograms (165 pounds), that reduces its range to 800 kilometers (500 miles). The Liutiy is easy to transport, being composed of separate modules which can be easily reassembled.