Ukrainian drones struck deep inside Russia overnight, hitting an explosives factory in Mordovia and an oil complex in Dagestan, Russian regional officials said Wednesday.
Artyom Zdunov, the head of the Republic of Mordovia – a nominally autonomous republic within the Russian Federation – said the region had come under a “massive drone attack” early Oct. 22. He confirmed that one of the republic’s industrial plants had been damaged but did not specify which. Emergency services were working at the site, he said, without reporting any casualties.
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Independent Russian outlet ASTRA reported that the strike hit the Saransk Mechanical Plant, located in the city of Saransk, 632 kilometers (392 miles) east of Moscow. The facility is part of the state defense conglomerate Rostec and produces gunpowder, pyrotechnical materiel and rocket fuel.
Mordovia lies about 700 kilometers (435 miles) from the Ukrainian border, making the attack one of the deepest known drone strikes on Russian territory. The republic was first targeted by Ukrainian drones in April 2024.
In southern Russia, drones also reached Dagestan on the Caspian Sea coast, nearly 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) from Ukraine. The region’s head, Sergey Melikov, said one enterprise was attacked, but did not name which.
He said no casualties had been reported and urged residents not to post information about the strikes or military movements online.
According to the Ukrainian monitoring channel Supernova+, one of the drones hit the Dagnefteprodukt oil transshipment complex – the largest in the North Caucasus.
Another Russian Telegram channel, VChK-OGPU, said the Dagnotech oil refinery might have been the target instead. Both facilities were formerly owned by ex–Dagestan state secretary Magomed-Sultan Magomedov and were later nationalized.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down or intercepted 33 Ukrainian drones overnight across multiple regions, including Bryansk, Leningrad, Rostov and Pskov. The ministry’s report did not mention attacks in Mordovia or Dagestan.
The overnight assault came just days after another series of deep strikes inside Russia. On Oct. 19, Ukraine’s military confirmed attacks on oil and gas facilities in Samara and Orenburg regions, around 1,000 to 1,500 kilometers from the front line, targeting infrastructure that supports Moscow’s war effort.
Ukrainian drones reportedly hit the Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery and the Orenburg gas processing plant, causing fires and damage to key processing units, according to official statements and local reports.
Since August, Ukraine has intensified strikes on Russian oil and gas facilities and pipelines. Bloomberg reported that nearly one-third of Russian refineries have been affected.
Kyiv Post earlier reported that the US, under President Donald Trump, reportedly provided the necessary intelligence to help Kyiv strike Russian oil facilities across the country in a secret bid to push Moscow towards negotiations.
As of early October, the attacks reportedly shut down 38% of Russian oil refineries and prompted an oil crisis inside Russia, with sales restrictions on gasoline and diesel introduced in multiple regions.
The attacks have caused gasoline shortages in 57 Russian regions, forcing authorities to halt exports, increase imports from Belarus, and begin importing from China and other Asian countries.
Fuel prices have also surged, with Rosstat reporting a 2.58% increase in September, the highest monthly rise since 2018, and a year-on-year growth of 12.73%, the highest in 14 years.
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