In the Ukrainian attack on the Russian aviation center for pilots in Borisoglebsk, Voronezh region, drones hit a target just a few kilometers from a secret Russian nuclear storage facility.
The Chkalov aeronautical education center is less than 11 kilometers from the closed military city of Voronezh-45, where Russian nuclear weapons are stored, independent Russian news firm Agentstvo reported on Telegram.
The latest attack lays out in more detail the dangers and risks associated with Ukrainian movements on Russian soil, which began shortly after the start of the Russian invasion and have grown in scale and scope in recent months.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian and Ukrainian ministries for comment.
Several videos were released on Tuesday showing a large explosion that hit the area where the pilot center is located, with damage to production facilities shown by a Ukrainian official.
“We will give details, but according to the first information, the main production facilities of the company were damaged,” Andriy Yusov, a representative of the General Intelligence Directorate (HUR), told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
The Russian Defense Ministry issued a statement shortly after claiming that two enemy drones had been destroyed through air defenses in the Voronezh region.
The drone aviation center is located on Narodnaya Street, less than 11 kilometers from Voronezh-45, which is home to one of 12 known nuclear weapons storage facilities in Russia, according to United Nations data.
The site had already attracted media attention in June 2023, when Wagner troops reportedly approached it on their way to Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny in Moscow.
The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, commenting on the events of July 2023, claimed, without offering evidence, that mercenaries from the Wagner Group had attempted to get their hands on nuclear devices during their brief uprising against the Russian military establishment.
“If you are willing to fight to the last survivor, this is one of the comforts that dramatically raises the stakes,” Budanov said in an interview with Reuters.
During the mutiny, Wagner’s army cars swerved east from their direction to Moscow and headed toward Voronezh-25, as evidenced through published videos and interviews with local citizens in Russian media.
The Wagner mercenaries reportedly reached the city of Talovaya, where they fought with the Russian army and shot down a Ka-52 “Alligator” helicopter.
Ukraine has intensified its painful drone attacks and sabotage against Russian military facilities, refineries and factories in 2024, with successful moves recently recorded up to 800 miles from the Ukrainian border.
Dozens of strategically Russian oil facilities and plants appear to be within Ukraine’s reach, and Kyiv announces imminent plans to mass-produce new drones with even greater ranges, potentially exceeding 1,800 miles.
Yevgeny Kuklychev is Newsweek’s editor-in-chief for Russia, Ukraine and Eastern Europe based in London. In the past, he edited Misinformation Watch and Newsweek’s Newsweek Fact Check. Eugene focuses on the Russia-Ukraine war, European and American politics, disinformation, and fact-checking. He joined Newsweek in 2021 and in the past worked for the BBC, MTV, Bonds
You can contact Yevgeny by sending an email to y. kuklychev@newsweek. com