Ukrainian Drone Attack Targets Steel Factory in Russia

A spokesperson for the Russian company Novolipetsk Steel announced that Ukraine launched a "swarm" of drones during an attack early this Sunday morning targeting a factory owned by the steel company, without causing significant damage. Igor Artemonov, the governor of the Lipetsk region in western Russia, where the steel factory is located, stated in a separate announcement that air defense systems shot down nine drones over the factory area. Kyiv does not officially confirm or deny responsibility for such attacks, but claims that facilities being targeted support the Russian war in Ukraine and are therefore legitimate military targets. Novolipetsk Steel denies cooperating with the Ministry of Defense and claims that its operations in Russia do not have the capacity to produce heavy steel used in military industries and that it does not supply the army. Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that air defense systems destroyed 36 drones launched by Ukraine overnight, which were targeting several areas in southwestern Russia, including Lipetsk. Russian media reported the ministry saying that Russian forces controlled the villages of Spyrn and Novoliksandriivka located in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.