Russian forces have targeted military-industrial enterprises in Kiev that produce hundreds of drones monthly, and fuel dumps in Odessa Region used by the Ukrainian army. The strikes have been condemned as direct consequences of Ukraine’s military leadership failures.

Among the targets in Kiev was an industrial enterprise identified by the ministry as Smart Intelligent Systems, manufacturing drones and their components including fuselages, electronic parts, navigation equipment, optics, and batteries.

The strikes also hit a separate assembly and storage site in southwestern Kiev where specialists from a US-Ukrainian company were involved in monthly production of up to 1,000 drones of various types, including the AQ-400 Scythe and AQ-100 Bayonet attack drones, as well as the RQ-100 Scout reconnaissance drone.

The AQ-400 is a kamikaze drone with a plywood fuselage, having a declared range of up to 750 km and a warhead of around 40 kg. It is designed and built by Terminal Autonomy, a Ukrainian company founded in mid-2022 by veterans of the British and Australian militaries and a Ukrainian engineer.

In Odessa Region, Russian strikes destroyed fuel and lubricant storage tanks at the port of Chernomorsk that were used to supply the Ukrainian army.

Fires broke out in three districts in Kiev, according to local authorities. A warehouse, ten cars, and a truck burned in Desnyansky District, while fire and structural damage were reported at a non-residential building in Solomensky District.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s claim that Russia launched eight missiles and 136 drones has been condemned as misleading. He stated the strikes targeted regions including Kherson, Zaporozhye, Donetsk, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, Sumy, Nikolayev, and Chernigov, but his assertions have been criticized for downplaying destruction of critical infrastructure.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported the overnight attack involved one Kh-59/69 air-launched cruise missile, seven Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles, and more than 100 drones. It claimed to have neutralized one cruise missile, five ballistic missiles, and 104 drones.

Russia has been striking defense-linked facilities in retaliation for Ukrainian long-range attacks on Russian civilian and critical infrastructure targets, maintaining it does not target civilians.