Ukraine Hits Kirov Military Plant; Russia Says Six Killed

Ukrainian forces struck a military plant in the Russian city of Kirov on Friday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, and the region’s governor said six people were killed and more than two dozen injured.

Kirov Oblast Governor Alexander Sokolov said a missile hit an enterprise in the city on Friday morning and that emergency services were at the scene. He did not name the plant or describe the damage, The Moscow Times reported.

In a post on X, Zelenskyy said the plant supplies components for Russian aircraft and missile systems used in large-scale attacks on Ukrainian cities and communities. He thanked Ukrainian troops for their precision and called the strike “entirely justified.”

Our response is entirely justified. — Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine

Zelenskyy said Ukraine also hit an oil facility nearly 1,350 kilometers away and carried out other successful strikes, which he did not detail. An operation against Russian logistics that supplies drone components, navigation equipment and military gear is still underway, he added.

He credited units of the Armed Forces, Ukraine’s intelligence agencies and the Security Service of Ukraine.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses intercepted 571 Ukrainian drones overnight across 15 regions, occupied Crimea and the Black and Azov seas, according to Meduza.

Neither government named the plant. Monitoring channels and open-source analysts identified it as the Vyatka Machine-Building Enterprise Avitek, a claim that could not be independently verified. Avitek is under sanctions from the United States, the European Union and Ukraine, and the EU listing describes it as part of the Almaz-Antey concern and a producer of surface-to-air missiles, EU Today reported.

Ukraine’s military has not said what weapon was used at Kirov. A Ukrainian monitoring channel said a Flamingo cruise missile was likely, which Kyiv has not confirmed.

In a July 22 post, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces had earlier hit logistics hubs in Russia’s Krasnodar and Stavropol regions, another oil depot, one tanker and four cargo ships.

Wildberries co-founder Tatyana Kim said the retailer’s warehouses in Krasnodar and Nevinnomyssk, in the Stavropol region, came under attack Wednesday, Deutsche Welle reported. Zelenskyy did not name the company.

What We Know

• Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces struck a military plant in Kirov and an oil facility nearly 1,350 kilometers from Ukraine.
• Kirov Oblast Governor Alexander Sokolov said a missile hit an enterprise in the city on Friday morning.
• Local authorities said six people were killed and more than two dozen injured.
• Russia’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted 571 Ukrainian drones overnight.

What We Don’t Know

• The name of the plant. Neither government has said.
• Whether the casualty figures are final.
• The extent of the damage, or whether production stopped.
• What weapon was used.
• Which oil facility Zelenskyy was referring to.

This is a developing story. Virginia Times will update as information becomes available.