In a series of overnight attacks on 14 November, explosives-laden drones struck two key Russian defense sites outside Moscow and in western Russia’s Bryansk Oblast, according to Russian Telegram channels cited widely by Russian media.
The high-value targets were a missile production plant run by KB Mashinostroyeniya (KBM) near Moscow and an explosives factory in Bryansk belonging to a major state defense company, the channels reported Tuesday.
Multiple blasts were heard at the KBM missile plant in Kolomna, about 100 kilometers from Moscow, early Tuesday morning around 7:30am. “In houses on Oksky Prospect it was clearly heard. Car alarms went off in courtyards,” an unnamed local witness told Astra.
Special service vehicles rushed to the missile factory, which produces Iskander and Kinzhal ballistic missiles, after reports of the attack spread, the witness added. The drone strike came two days after the same defense site was reportedly first hit on 11 November in an initial raid, Astra wrote.
This drone was reportedly spotted flying towards KB Mashinostroyeniya in Kolomna, 112 km from Moscow, where explosions were reported overnight on 14 Nov
The plant is a Russian leading defense R&D center, producing Kinzhal and Iskander missiles
???? Astra TG pic.twitter.com/S81zrvu8iT— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) November 14, 2023
Meanwhile, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was discovered lodged inside a workshop at the Bryansk Chemical Plant overnight, according to the Baza TG channel. The state-run facility located in Steltso town specializes in industrial explosives production and munitions disposal.
The drone had pierced through the roof in three different spots but failed to detonate, Baza wrote. Plant operations were temporarily halted while bomb squads inspected the UAV model aircraft. There were no casualties reported from the incident.
In response to the raids, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses intercepted and shot down four Ukrainian drones that approached Moscow and three other nearby regions overnight. Military authorities denied any infrastructure damage.
According to Russian media Mash, Tambov, Moscow, Orel and Bryansk regions saw drone attacks this night. Reportedly Russia downed 4 Ukrainian UAVs
???? Drone flying over Tambov Oblast/Mash pic.twitter.com/nFnuCMpRN6
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) November 14, 2023
The Bryansk Chemical Plant named after the 50th Anniversary of the USSR specializes in the production of industrial explosives and the disposal of ammunition.
KB Mashinostroyeniya (Design Bureau of Machine Building) is one of Russia’s leading design and research and production centers in the field of military equipment, producing, among other things, the Kinzhal and Iskander missiles. The company was founded in 1942 and is part of the High-Precision Complexes holding of Rostec State Corporation.
Faced with restraints on using western long-range missiles to strike objects in Russia, Ukraine has resorted to drone attacks on Russian airfields, defense objects, and key infrastructure sites.
Here is a map of all Ukraine’s 2023 drone strikes on Russian targets
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