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Ukraine repeatedly attacks Russian infrastructure with drones. These now penetrate deep into Russian territory.
Kiev/Moscow – A month after Ukraine began bombing targets on Russian territory with converted sport aircraft loaded with explosives, this strategy continues to have an impact. One of the self-constructed drones now even penetrated into the city of Salawat. The major Russian city with 156,095 inhabitants is located in the Republic of Bashkortostan, around 1,200 kilometers from the front line Ukraine war removed.
The target of the Ukrainian sports drone was a Gazprom oil refinery in Salawat, one of the largest industrial complexes in Russia. According to the Ukrainian secret service SBU, the drone attack was initiated. The Russian state news agency RIA Novosti Citing local emergency services, reports that the drone attack damaged the industrial plant’s pumping station building. However, no one was injured as a result of the attack.
The Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat plant is working as usual despite the Ukrainian drone attack, said the head of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Radii Khabirov, on his personal channel on the Telegram messenger service.
Attack on the oil refinery in Salawat marks a new success for the Ukrainian army
Since the start of the Russian offensive against Ukraine more than two years ago, the Ukrainian armed forces have repeatedly managed to successfully send drones to Russia. Over time, these penetrated further and further into Russian territory.
The drone attack on Salawat marks a new milestone for the Ukrainian armed forces: never before has a Ukrainian drone managed to penetrate so far into Russian territory. With its drone strategy, Ukraine appears to have found an effective means of attacking Russian refineries, factories and strategic military sites.
On the other hand, Vladimir Putin’s armed forces also repeatedly use drones to attack critical infrastructure in Ukraine. Until recently, the country’s energy infrastructure was repeatedly the target of Russian drone attacks.
How does Ukraine manage to penetrate so far into Russia with drones?
For its attacks on various targets in Russia, the Ukrainian military currently uses drones manufactured by the SBU and the Ukrainian Special Operations Command from two domestic aircraft types: the “Aeroprakt A-22” and the “Aerosor Nynj”. The US intelligence service Forbes according to, The recent Ukrainian drone attack on the Salavat industrial complex is at least the fourth attack attempt carried out with such recreational aircraft drones.
Both types of aircraft apparently have inexpensive video cameras, simple on-board computers and servos connected to the aircraft controls. They also contain satellite radio devices that can be used to send video recordings to a remote operator or to receive and send control signals. Both drones fly at a speed of around 160 kilometers per hour and are intended to blend in with civil air traffic, making them difficult for enemy air defenses to detect and intercept.
On the Short message service X (formerly Twitter), various video material is currently circulating that was recorded by local residents in Salawat. On some of them you can clearly see the wide, straight wings, the fixed wheels and the propeller, which is loud Forbes All characteristic features are that the drones in question are likely to be converted aircraft of this type. Converted, the cost of such a copy is around 90,000 US dollars.
New Ukrainian drone tactics have long been effective in the war against Russia
The range of a sport aircraft with a typical 20-gallon fuel tank is at its extreme limit at around 1,200 kilometers. However, be it Forbes According to them, it is conceivable that the Ukrainians have installed additional tanks – and voluntarily accept more weight in return for more range. Because with every kilometer that a drone gains in range, Of course, the number of potential attack targets is also growing.
The Ukrainians’ previous targets on Russian territory during the war included a drone factory in the Alabuga special economic zone, around 1,000 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. On April 2, Ukrainian forces used at least one A-22 drone to attack an over-the-horizon radar in Kovylkino, a small town in Mordovia Oblast, nearly 500 kilometers from the border. Around two weeks later, on April 17, further attacks by A-22 drones followed, damaging the radar and a control building.
Attacks have “no significant impact” on annual production at oil refineries
It is questionable what overarching goal the Ukrainian armed forces are specifically pursuing in their attacks on Russian oil refineries. Although the attacks were able to reduce Russian gasoline production somewhat, this will probably not be enough to have an immediate impact on the economy and thus also on Russia’s ability to wage war.
The Ukrainian military’s attacks on Russian oil refineries are nothing more and nothing less than “selective attacks,” energy expert Hennadii Rіabtsev explained to the Ukrainian Pravda End of March (March 21, 2024).
“Although they are painful and affect logistics, they do not have a significant impact on the total annual volume of refineries,” said Riabtsev. It is also conceivable that the attacks on Russian refineries are intended to put pressure on Russia’s air defenses by forcing them to protect hundreds of potential attack targets throughout Russia. (fh)
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