Ukraine reportedly targeted Russian facilities with drones as the Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Nov. 20 that air defense forces shot down 44 drones overnight.
Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said that drone wreckage damaged the premises of an enterprise in the town of Alekseevka on Nov. 19. Media reports identified the facility as an EFKO plant, officially a sauce manufacturer.
Separately, drone strikes were reported also in Voronezh Oblast, with local authorities claiming that five drones struck a civilian industrial facility, starting a fire.
The Voronezh and Belgorod oblasts lie at the border with Ukraine and are regularly targeted in cross-border drone strikes.
Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council's counter-disinformation center, said that the EFKO plant also secretly produces cargo drones used by the Russian military.
The official said that Ukrainian drones also attacked the 13th Arsenal of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of Russia's Defense Ministry (GRAU) near Kotovo in Novgorod Oblast, some 680 kilometers (420 miles) from Ukraine’s border.
According to Kovalenko, the arsenal stores critical military supplies, including artillery shells, multiple-launch rocket system (MLRS) missiles, Iskander and anti-aircraft missiles, and ammunition for various systems, including the Tor complex.
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed that 22 drones were shot down over Novgorod Oblast overnight.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.
These strikes come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced plans on Nov. 19 to scale up domestic production of long-range drones and missiles.
As part of Ukraine’s resilience plan, the country aims to manufacture at least 30,000 long-range drones in the coming year and establish a new technology center to enhance its defense capabilities.
Ukrainian forces struck a military arsenal in Karachev, Bryansk Oblast, overnight on Nov. 19, with some reports indicating that Kyiv deployed U.S. ATACMS missiles for the first time on Russian soil.
Martin Fornusek
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