On the afternoon of 13 April, explosions occurred at a machine-building plant in occupied Luhansk, reportedly a Russian military equipment repair depot, as per local sources. Photos and videos posted by locals on social media captured the ensuing fire. Rising smoke, typical of burning diesel fuel, was observed over the area. Some local sources captured the silhouette of the Storm Shadow/Scalp missile moments before a strike and speculated that it might have been the German Taurus missile. One of the videos captured two strikes while a plume of smoke was already rising over the facility, which suggests that at least three missiles hit the target.
On 14 April, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, Ukraine’s Air Force Commander, confirmed that Ukrainian pilots conducted a successful strike on an enemy facility in Luhansk Oblast on 13 April, as reported on his Telegram. The Commander claimed that the Ukrainian attack hit the command post of the “Center” grouping of Russian forces in occupied Luhansk.
More videos of the April 13 explosion in occupied Luhansk.
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— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) April 13, 2024
“I thank the pilots of the Air Forces for a successful, and most importantly, an effective strike on the enemy facility in Luhansk Oblast on 13 April 2024. The Ukrainian pilots did an excellent job and returned to the base,” Oleshchuk noted.
As the US aid has been stalled in Congress for more than six months, Oleshchuk stated that Ukraine will conduct more strikes on Russian rear positions when it receives additional missiles from Western partners.
Read also:
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- Ukraine’s spy agency says it eliminated Russia’s “LNR colonel” Filiponenko in occupied Luhansk (updated)
- Frontline report: Ukraine showcases power of ATACMS missiles against Russian airbases
