Ukraine launched overnight drone attacks, causing an explosion and fire at an ethanol manufacturing plant and damaging two other alcohol-producing facilities in Russia, Russian officials reported on Tuesday, reported Reuters.
A blast occurred at the Biokhim biochemical plant in Russia’s Tambov region, about 450 kilometres southeast of Moscow, which ignited a brief fire, according to Tambov governor Maxim Yegorov. He stated on Telegram that “there are no casualties” based on preliminary information.
Russia’s defence ministry reported that its air defence systems had destroyed 18 Ukrainian drones overnight, though it did not specifically mention Tambov among the affected areas.
The Biokhim plant is one of Russia’s oldest producers of ethanol, a product of “strategic importance” for the country, according to the company’s website.
In the Tula region, which lies north of Moscow, governor Dmitry Milyayev confirmed that Ukrainian drone attacks had damaged two distilleries, one in the town of Yefremov and another in the village of Luzhkovskyi. Milyayev stated on Telegram that there were no injuries, and the situation was “under control,” though no further details were provided about the extent of the damage.
Additionally, a drone attack in Russia’s western Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, damaged a boiler house and a non-residential building, according to Bryansk governor Alexander Bogomaz. He also confirmed that there were no injuries.
These reports have not been independently verified, and there has been no immediate response from Ukraine. Kyiv has previously stated that its attacks inside Russia aim at infrastructure critical to Russia’s war efforts and are in retaliation for Moscow’s ongoing bombardments of Ukrainian territory.
