Latest news with #OperationZ
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Footage appears to show Russian air defenses struggling against a fixed-wing drone flying 700 miles behind its borders
Russia's Yelabuga zone, where it makes Shaheds, came under drone attack on Wednesday. Yelabuga is about 700 miles from Ukraine. Ukraine previously struck the local Shahed facility in 2024, using aircraft converted into a drone. Russian air defenses were seen battling a drone over the Yelabuga special economic zone on Wednesday, where Moscow builds its Shahed loitering munitions. Footage on Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels showed air-defense munitions struggling to destroy what appears to be a drone resembling a small airplane. Business Insider geolocated one of these clips, which was filmed by a person standing near an Aurus car factory in Yelabuga. In the video, the flying object maneuvers over the special economic zone, avoiding munitions that miss and explode in midair. Yelabuga is some 700 miles from the Ukrainian border, making this one of Ukraine's longer-range drone attacks into Russia. There have been conflicting reports on the outcome, and it is unclear if Russia's Shahed production suffered any damage. Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, alluded to a strike in a Telegram post, writing of an event that occurred "somewhat loudly, and somewhat successfully in places" in Yelabuga. He did not say directly that Ukraine had carried out a strike on Yelabuga, a 7.7 square-mile area in the Republic of Tatarstan that the White House said in 2023 was home to a joint Russian-Iranian facility for producing Shaheds. Kovalenko wrote: "This year, the Russians have set a target of producing between 8,000 and 10,000 Shahed/Geran drones annually in Yelabuga, as well as 15,000 decoy drones." As the video of the drone evading Russian defenses circulated on social media, the Telegram channel Operation Z, run by pro-Kremlin bloggers, posted a clip on Wednesday of a similar drone descending in a ball of flame after being struck by an air-defense missile. The Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that it had shot down an "aircraft-type" drone over Tatarstan but did not mention Yelabuga. Ukrainian and Russian channels said more drones were present, but both sides reported different outcomes. The popular Ukrainian Telegram blogger Nikolaevsky Vanyok, who posts regular updates on the war, wrote that five drones hit their target while one was shot down. Operation Z wrote that four drones were destroyed. BI couldn't independently verify the authenticity of either claim. Ukraine struck Russia's Shahed production facility in Yelabuga in early April 2024 using a drone that resembled the fixed-wing ones filmed this week. Kyiv used a Cessna-style ultralight sporting aircraft, the Aeroprakt A-22 Foxbat, that was converted into an uncrewed aerial vehicle that can be packed with explosives. The Iranian-designed Shaheds have been core to Russia's operations in Ukraine, where the Kremlin has deployed thousands of the loitering munitions to harass and attack Ukrainian cities and military targets. The day before Wednesday's attack at Yelabuga, another major Russian facility, an ammunition depot near Moscow, suffered a massive explosion. Ukraine did not comment on the cause of the explosive incident. It regularly carries out long-range drone and missile strikes on ammunition depots and military production facilities within Russia. The Kremlin said the blast was the result of a mishandling of explosives. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Business Insider
Footage appears to show Russian air defenses struggling against a fixed-wing drone flying 700 miles behind its borders
Russian air defenses were seen battling a drone over the Yelabuga special economic zone on Wednesday, where Moscow builds its Shahed loitering munitions. Footage on Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels showed air-defense munitions struggling to destroy what appears to be a drone resembling a small airplane. Business Insider geolocated one of these clips, which was filmed by a person standing near an Aurus car factory in Yelabuga. In the video, the flying object maneuvers over the special economic zone, avoiding munitions that miss and explode in midair. :fire::fire::fire:WOW Good Unknow Drones hit drone manufacturing plant in russia 1700 km from the border(:bangbang:) In the video, the Pantsir-S1 missile defense system misses our drone, which is maneuvering before the attack. — Angelica Shalagina:flag-ua: (@angelshalagina) April 23, 2025 Yelabuga is some 700 miles from the Ukrainian border, making this one of Ukraine's longer-range drone attacks into Russia. There have been conflicting reports on the outcome, and it is unclear if Russia's Shahed production suffered any damage. Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, alluded to a strike in a Telegram post, writing of an event that occurred "somewhat loudly, and somewhat successfully in places" in Yelabuga. He did not say directly that Ukraine had carried out a strike on Yelabuga, a 7.7 square-mile area in the Republic of Tatarstan that the White House said in 2023 was home to a joint Russian-Iranian facility for producing Shaheds. Kovalenko wrote: "This year, the Russians have set a target of producing between 8,000 and 10,000 Shahed/Geran drones annually in Yelabuga, as well as 15,000 decoy drones." As the video of the drone evading Russian defenses circulated on social media, the Telegram channel Operation Z, run by pro-Kremlin bloggers, posted a clip on Wednesday of a similar drone descending in a ball of flame after being struck by an air-defense missile. The Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that it had shot down an "aircraft-type" drone over Tatarstan but did not mention Yelabuga. Ukrainian and Russian channels said more drones were present, but both sides reported different outcomes. The popular Ukrainian Telegram blogger Nikolaevsky Vanyok, who posts regular updates on the war, wrote that five drones hit their target while one was shot down. Operation Z wrote that four drones were destroyed. BI couldn't independently verify the authenticity of either claim. Ukraine struck Russia's Shahed production facility in Yelabuga in early April 2024 using a drone that resembled the fixed-wing ones filmed this week. Kyiv used a Cessna-style ultralight sporting aircraft, the Aeroprakt A-22 Foxbat, that was converted into an uncrewed aerial vehicle that can be packed with explosives. The Iranian-designed Shaheds have been core to Russia's operations in Ukraine, where the Kremlin has deployed thousands of the loitering munitions to harass and attack Ukrainian cities and military targets. The day before Wednesday's attack at Yelabuga, another major Russian facility, an ammunition depot near Moscow, suffered a massive explosion. Ukraine did not comment on the cause of the explosive incident. It regularly carries out long-range drone and missile strikes on ammunition depots and military production facilities within Russia. The Kremlin said the blast was the result of a mishandling of explosives.
Russia Today
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ukrainians fear frontline encirclement
Ukrainian soldiers have been raising fear of possible encirclement as Russian forces continue to advance along the front line, CNN has reported, citing data and messages posted on social media. The Russian military has made new gains in the southwest of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), pushing forward between strategic cities of Pokrovsk (also known as Krasnoarmeysk) and Dzerzhinsk (Toretsk), according to the Russian Telegram channel 'Operation Z: War reporters of Russian Spring'. Ukrainian forces still control parts of Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions, including the regional capitals of the latter two. The two Donbass republics as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye regions officially joined Russia in 2022 following referendums. Some of the fiercest fighting has recently been reported south of Pokrovsk, once a key logistics hub for Ukrainian forces in the remaining parts of the DPR under Kiev's control. A Ukrainian officer deployed in the area told CNN this week, citing drone footage and intercepted radio communications, that Russian forces were bringing in additional manpower and vehicles, possibly in preparation for new assaults. CNN's analysis of combat engagements recorded by Ukraine's General Staff reportedly indicated an increase in Russian activity along all parts of the front over the past two weeks. READ MORE: Ukraine's top general demands 30,000 conscripts a month Posts by Ukrainian soldiers on social media in recent days have described fears of an encirclement in one location and a breach of defensive lines in another, the news outlet wrote. It quoted a Telegram post by a Ukrainian with a call-sign Muchnoy, who claimed the front line had entered an 'active' phase and that 'the Russians will not stop.' 'They will enter the Dnepropetrovsk Region – this is one of the key tasks set by the Russian command,' the post reportedly stated. The potential encirclement of Pokrovsk could pave the way for a broader offensive into Dnepropetrovsk Region, with only six kilometers remaining to the border. Dnepropetrovsk Region borders DPR to the east and Kherson and Zaporozhye regions to the south. The report suggested that the capture of even a part of Dnepropetrovsk Region could serve as a 'bargaining chip' for Moscow in future negotiations, while seriously weakening Kiev's position. On Friday, the 'Operation Z' channel shared video footage from the fighting near Pokrovsk, showing the 255th Regiment destroying NATO equipment, infantry, and positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
