Mar 08, 2024
VITALII NOSACH/GLOBAL IMAGES UKRAINE/GETTY IMAGES
A map published by an online Russian publication shows that Ukraine’s drone strikes are reaching deeper inside Russia.
Analysis by Verstka, an independent Russian news outlet that was founded shortly after the Ukraine war began, shows that the latest drone attacks on Russian soil have widened the area of the country in Ukraine’s firing range to 1.045 million square kilometers.
Russia has been hit with waves of drone strikes since President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with some attacks reaching Moscow. Many strikes have targeted ammunition depots and warehouses. Ukraine rarely claims responsibility for attacks on Russian soil, but the Kremlin has accused Kyiv of trying to carry out terrorist attacks using drones.
Verstka cited a Thursday drone strike on a metallurgical factory belonging to steelmaker Severstal in the city of Cherepovets, which is in Russia’s Vologda region.
“In the Vologda region at the Severstal enterprise this morning there was an incident in the area of the blast furnace which was struck by a drone of unidentified affiliation. The main thing is there are no casualties,” said Georgy Filimonov, the acting governor of Vologda, in a statement.
“In addition, the operation of the furnace was not disrupted and the enterprise is functioning in normal mode,” he said.
Earlier on Thursday, Filimonov had described the attack as a “technological incident,” without elaborating.
Verstka reported that the attack was one of the “most distant targets” from Ukraine’s front lines that have been attacked on Russian soil since the war began.
“The attack on the enterprise in Cherepovets expanded Russia’s potentially vulnerable territory to attacks by the Ukrainian army by 45 thousand square kilometers,” the news outlet said. “Now it is about 1,045,000 square kilometers. It contains six million-plus cities, including two federal cities—Moscow and St. Petersburg.”
Verstka added: “Previously, in the northeastern direction, drones flew to St. Petersburg and Yaroslavl, where the targets were the Nevsky Mazut plant and the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery.”
On Wednesday, authorities in three Russian regions—Belgorod, Voronezh and Kursk—announced an overnight drone attack. In addition, a massive explosion rocked a combined heat and power plant in the city of Shagonar in southern Siberia, on Wednesday morning.
Ukraine has also ramped up attacks on Russian oil hubs and refineries in recent weeks, forcing Moscow to approve a temporary ban on the export of gasoline last month.
This is a very positive development. Of course, I still want to see a massive increase of strikes in mafia land. There are lots of targets to be destroyed.
I studied that Taurus crap and came to the conclusion that it is good for targeting nearby radar or troops, but it could never make it to the Kerch without being detected by ruSSian radar and would be shot downe by ruSSian air defense. The distance is simply too long, and the size and speed of the Taurus are too big and too slow.
Well, there are many military experts and generals who would beg to differ.
I would think it would have a better chance being part of a combination attack including decoys.
Mike ignores all the successful Storm Shadow and Scalp missions.
Where did i say so? I was only referring to the Taurus.
They are the same types of missiles, with the exception that the Taurus has a longer range.
I see myself corrected after doing some investigation into the Storm Shadow, which was unknown to me so far. From Odesa to the Kerch by air the distance is 288 miles. The Storm Shadow has a range of more than 300 miles, so it could hit and destroy the bridge then, if – as you say – ruSSian air defense can’t stop it?!
The biggest differences between the two missiles, Mike, are their warheads. The SS uses the BROACH system, while the Taurus uses the MEPHISTO, which is much better suited to destroy targets like bridges. The BROACH can’t accomplish this.
Shameful after all.