Ukrainian forces launch widespread drone attacks on Russian energy facilities
The Russian military claimed that their air defences allegedly destroyed and intercepted fifty UAVs. This included twenty-six over the Belgorod region, ten over the Bryansk region, eight over the Kursk region, two over the Tula region, and one each over the Smolensk, Ryazan, Kaluga, and Moscow regions.
The Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing sources, that the night-time drone attack across eight Russian regions was a joint operation carried out by Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and the Ukrainian Armed Forces' Special Operations Forces.
According to the same sources, the operation was a joint effort by the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine), GUR (Main Intelligence Directorate), and SSU (Special Operations Forces) of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The targets were energy infrastructure facilities powering Russian military-industrial complex units. These attacks caused electrical outages and water supply issues in some affected areas.
"SBU drones have once again proven their effectiveness and demonstrated results by successfully striking infrastructure that ensures the continuous operation of military objects on Russian territory,” noted a source in the special services. As a result of the extensive attack, at least three power substations sustained damage and fires broke out at a fuel storage site.
On the night of April 20, an unmanned aerial vehicle struck a fuel and energy facility in the Kardymovsky district of the Smolensk region in Russia. According to Vasily Anokhin, the governor of the region, the strike led to a fire at the site.
Russian authorities also reported that energy infrastructure facilities in the Bryansk, Kaluga, and Belgorod regions of Russia were attacked with drones. Social media circulated videos of a fire at a substation near Bryansk.