Ukraine's Defence Forces hit Russian plants that make missiles, guided bombs, drones and air defence systems in October, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said on social media. They also struck airfields with Su-34 bombers. Targets included makers of rocket fuel and of Iskander-M parts, and a warehouse for Geran drones.
The General Staff said the forces act under Article 51 of the UN Charter, which covers the right of self-defence. It said the strikes aim to weaken Russia's war economy and force it to end its aggression against Ukraine.
Six Su-34 multirole fighter-bombers were hit at Borisoglebsk airfield in the Voronezh region on the night of 15 October. On 29 October, Neptune coastal missile systems of the Ukrainian Navy destroyed two more Su-34s at Marinovka airfield in the Volgograd region.
The Su-34 is the main aircraft Russia's army uses to launch guided bombs at areas near the front in Ukraine. One carries up to 8 tonnes of weapons and costs about $50m. The General Staff said losing the aircraft limits Russia's ability to hit frontline communities and Ukrainian positions with guided bombs.
The Energiya plant in Yelets, in the Lipetsk region, was hit on 25 October and on the night of 26 October. The workshop that makes power supply units for weapons was struck, and a fire broke out on the plant's grounds. The General Staff called it the only maker of batteries for the glide and correction modules of aerial bombs. The plant also makes batteries for the Iskander-M operational-tactical missile system and for sea-launched cruise missiles.
On 23 October in Oryol, the main microchip workshop of Proton-Electrotex was destroyed, and the building and servers were damaged. The company makes modules for S-71 Kover cruise missiles and inverter switches for 9M723 Iskander-M ballistic missiles. It also takes part in making the Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile and gun system.
The Redkino experimental plant in the Tver region was hit on the night of 9 October. It makes parts for Decilin-M fuel, used in Kh-55 and Kh-101 cruise missiles. A strike on 9 October also hit the centre for scrapping intercontinental ballistic missiles near Surovatikha in the Nizhny Novgorod region. The General Staff said the aim is to cut the ability of Russian industry to make explosives and rocket fuel.
Production facilities at three rubber plants were damaged: the Togliattikauchuk combine on 24 October, and the Yefremov synthetic rubber plant and Voronezhsintezkauchuk on 26 October. Their synthetic rubber goes into solid rocket fuel for tactical and ballistic missiles.
A production and storage building of Roboavia was hit on 16 October near the village of Lenina in the Rostov region. The company designs and makes drones for the Russian army. The General Staff said the strike hampers their production and delivery to the front.
On 28-29 October, a warehouse for Geran drones, a drone port and a fuel and lubricants depot were hit near Navlya in the Bryansk region. The General Staff said this cuts Russia's ability to attack Ukraine and its civilian infrastructure with drones.
On the night of 31 October, strike drones and missile troops using Neptune systems of the Ukrainian Navy carried out a combined strike on the Kamensky Combine in the Rostov region. A fire in a warehouse for finished products has been confirmed, and four production workshops were damaged. The plant makes solid rocket fuel for munitions of the Uragan, Smerch and Tornado-S rocket launchers, for other missile systems and for aircraft weapons.