Ukrainian drones attacked Dzerzhinsk in the Nizhny Novgorod region overnight on August 19, with one striking the Sverdlov explosives plant, a strategic defense-chemical enterprise and one of Russia's largest explosives manufacturers, and another hitting a residential high-rise, according to the outlet Astra.
One drone hit a multi-story residential building in the Molodyozhny Deluxe housing complex, located several kilometers from the plant, Astra reported. No casualties have been reported. Footage published by the Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova+ shows thick smoke rising over the city.
The Sverdlov plant was previously targeted by Ukrainian drones on April 30. The enterprise is under sanctions from the United States, the European Union, Britain, Japan and Switzerland, and is also on Kyiv's sanctions list.
A red-level drone alert was declared in the Nizhny Novgorod region at around 3 a.m. Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) imposed restrictions at Nizhny Novgorod's airport: flights were initially coordinated individually, and after midnight arrivals and departures were fully restricted. Local authorities have not commented on the situation.
Ukrainian drones also attacked industrial enterprises in Ufa overnight. Head of Bashkortostan Radii Khabirov said six drones were launched, with air defense forces shooting down four. According to him, one drone fell in an industrial zone, causing a small fire, and another hit a residential building in the Zaton district, with one person injured according to preliminary information. The Ukrainian channel Exilenova+ also published video of an attack on Novomoskovsk in the Tula region; its target and consequences are unknown. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defense forces shot down at least 25 drones approaching the capital overnight.