Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
It’s not often we get to see what happens before, during and after such an attack.
Ukraine continues its long-range campaign of striking targets deep into Russian territory.
The range of these attacks keep increasing, with an attack last week reportedly striking more than 1,700 kilometres into Russia from the Ukrainan border.
A more recent attack did “just” hit 1,200 kilometres inside Russia – but the entire thing was caught on video.
A shattered silence
Footage shared by the pro-Ukrainian OSINT-group, ExileNova+, show a drone descended on the Russian city of Orenburg, located a massive 1,200 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
Moments later the drone appears to hit a building, resulting in a fiery explosion.
Ukraine has not commented on the attack, and it has not been independently verified, but local officials and regional Telegram channels quickly shared updates as the events unfolded.
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Hitting vital infrastructure
It seems that the drone did not hit its intented target though. The real target might have been industrial.
Astra, an independent Russian news outlet, claimed a drone was shot down just four kilometers from the Strela production plant.
That facility makes cruise missiles and parts for military aircraft. Another Ukrainian Telegram channel, Supernova Plus, reported that a major oil refinery in the wider region also took a hit.
Smoke and sirens
The strikes did not stop there. Sirens blared even further away in Chelyabinsk, a city sitting roughly 2,000 kilometers from Ukrainian territory.
Locals spotted thick smoke near a zinc processing plant. The Telegram channel Exilenova Plus highlighted the incident, but Russian authorities quickly offered a different story.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations claimed some cardboard simply caught fire and was quickly put out. They reported no injuries.
Sources: Astra, Supernova Plus, Exilenova Plus, Telegram, X, local Russian and Ukrainian authorities, the Kyiv Independent
