Reporting From Ukraine:https://www.youtube.com/@RFU/videosExcerpts from the video transcript.
Russia’s Key Munitions Network Shattered!
Today [ June 7 ], there are a lot of interesting updates from the Russian Federation. Here, Ukrainian forces have begun targeting not just the Russian military equipment, but the factories that produce them - deep in the industrial core of the country. By striking key munitions plants responsible for explosives, bomb kits, and artillery components, they’ve set off a chain reaction that could choke Russia’s ability to sustain its summer offensive. The goal of the Ukrainians here is to prevent the Russians from rebuilding their ammunition stockpiles after the latest destruction of the large Grau artillery arsenal in Vladimir Oblast. The success of this attack led to the destruction of up to 264,000 tons of drone, artillery, and missile stockpiles, equating to at least half a year of Russian munitions production.
... Ukrainians commenced a devastating series of precision drone strikes, starting with strikes on the Bazalt military-industrial complex in Moscow ... Bazalt is a key Russian defense enterprise, specializing in the design, development, and production of a wide range of munitions for the entire Russian army. Most notably, this plant produces high-explosive and thermobaric FAB glide bombs, which are equipped with guidance kits that are used for frontline and rear strikes by the Russian Air Force. ... Russian assault tactics are heavily dependent on glide bomb strikes to destroy detected Ukrainian positions. ... Ukrainian drones attacked the Murom Instrumentation Plant in the Vladimir region, 670 kilometers away from the front. The attack resulted in devastating fire that engulfed the warehouse storing finished materials, while damaging the factory administration building, and a factory building where explosives are synthesized got severely damaged. ... the electronic warfare systems in place at the factory were completely ineffective at repelling the drone strike, indicating that Ukraine is implementing AI targeting software more widely in its long-range strike drones as well. The plant is known in Russia for producing explosive ignition systems, including caps and primers for various types of ammunition used by the Russian military.
Subsequently, the Ukrainians struck the Sverdlov State Enterprise in Dzerzhinsk, nearly 800 kilometers from the frontline, one of the most critical Russian military industrial plants. The plant ... is the sole producer of high explosives hexogen and octogen, which are essential to produce artillery shells, ballistic missiles, anti-tank guided missiles, glide bombs, and air defense missiles ... the final target of Ukrainian strikes was the Azot chemical plant in Novomoskovsk in the Tula region, 350 kilometers from the front, causing a massive fire that left a significant part of the factory badly damaged. The chemicals produced at Azot, ammonium nitrate, methanol, and argon, are key components in explosives, the production of rocket fuel, welding, and heat treatment of metals used in Russian weapon systems.
The Murom Instrument-Making Plant, NPO Bazalt, Azot Tula Plant and the Sverdlov Plant form a critical link in Russia’s munitions supply chain, producing fusses, warheads, hard materials, and explosive compounds. Together, they enable the mass production of artillery shells, guided bombs, and missiles heavily used in Russia’s war on Ukraine, and critical for the Russian summer offensive to succeed. Continued disruption of these facilities ... will significantly impair Russia’s ability to sustain high-intensity combat operations. Overall, the Ukrainians conducted precision strikes at most critical parts of the Russian military industrial complex, responsible for producing essential materials for nearly all Russian equipment - ranging from artillery to aerial bombs. Such major sabotages ... take months to rebuild. Ammunition shortages force the Russians to slow down their attacks and fire at lower rates, making breakthroughs more difficult, and allowing the Ukrainians to better sustain the pressure; which is of immeasurable value with the Russians going all-in for their summer offensive.
