Russia’s War Machine Under Attack: Arms Plants, Airbases Hit in Saransk, Tula

Drones struck several Russian strategic defense industry facilities, including enterprises developing advanced weapons and military technology, according to Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation.

Two Russian airfields were also targeted. The Shaikovka airbase in Kaluga region, home to Tu-22M3 bombers and storage for missiles like the Kh-22, was hit. Another strike hit the Kubinka airbase near Moscow, which hosts Su-27 and MiG-29 fighter jets.

The pro-war Telegram channel Flightbomber also acknowledged the strike on Kubinka, noting that “the attack hit areas where personnel and equipment involved in parade preparations were stationed.” However, according to the channel, it supposedly won’t affect the aerial portion of the event.

In Saransk, Republic of Mordovia — located over 550 kilometers from Ukraine — a drone strike hit a plant that produces fiber-optic systems, a key component of Russia’s defense industry connected to modern military communications. The plant specializes in manufacturing cables and communication systems for the Russian army, including for drones operating via fiber-optic links, Kovalenko said on the morning of Wednesday, May 7.

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Russia’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted and destroyed 179 Ukrainian drones overnight across multiple regions.

The strike on the plant was also confirmed by the Russian Telegram channel Astra, which reported, citing eyewitnesses, that another building several kilometers from the facility was on fire.

According to Astra, just a few kilometers from the Optic-Fiber Systems plant are the Saransk Mechanical Plant and Saranskkabel-Optika, which may have been the targets of a second strike.

AO Optic-Fiber Systems is the first and currently only factory in Russia producing optical fiber. It is located in Saransk, Republic of Mordovia, according to the company’s website. Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko had previously noted that the plant manufactures fiber-optic cables used to control drones during the war against Ukraine.

This facility was already targeted in an earlier attack in early April.

In Tula, located about 450 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, another strike hit one of the key enterprises of Russia’s military-industrial complex — the Instrument Design Bureau. This facility develops modern weapons, including anti-tank missile systems, firearms, and combat modules, which are actively used by Russian forces in the war against Ukraine.

Another target in Tula was the SPLAV plant — Russia’s leading developer of multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS). “This is where the Grads, Uragans, and Smerches are made — weapons widely used against Ukrainian cities and on the battlefield. The enterprise is closely linked to the Rostec defense conglomerate and remains one of Russia’s top-priority arms manufacturers,” Kovalenko said.

“As a result of air defense operations over the Tula region, four drones were destroyed. Emergency services continue to work at the scene… Air defense systems remain on high alert and are now repelling the fifth wave of drone attacks,” said Dmitry Milyaev, governor of the Tula region.

“The situation is under control.”