Ukrainian Drone Assault Halts Operations at Major Chuvashia Electronics Facility

Work at an electronics factory in the Chuvash Republic was temporarily halted on Monday after Ukrainian drones struck the facility, according to local authorities.

«Ongoing attempts by Ukraine to deploy drones in Chuvashia were identified this morning,» wrote regional leader Oleg Nikolayev on Telegram. «Fortunately, there were no casualties as a result of the incident.»

Nikolayev reported that two drones had crashed on the premises of the VNIIR plant, one of Russia’s major producers of electronic components. Production was paused «to ensure the safety of our employees,» he noted.

Additionally, he mentioned that two other drones fell into adjacent fields but did not endanger civilians. «The situation is completely under control,» he added.

The VNIIR facility is located on the southern outskirts of Cheboksary, roughly 600 kilometers (373 miles) east of Moscow and 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) northeast of Ukraine’s border.

Videos from eyewitnesses showed several unmanned aerial vehicles crashing into what appeared to be the VNIIR plant, leading to significant explosions. A thick column of black smoke was seen rising from the site.

In a broader context, the Russian Defense Ministry stated it had intercepted 49 Ukrainian drones overnight.

In a separate report, Ukraine announced it had shot down numerous Russian drones over the western Rivne region, prompting the Polish military to scramble fighter jets in response to the airspace threat, according to Warsaw’s Operational Command.

AFP contributed to this report.