Ukraine destroys electrical equipment factory in Russia’s Bryansk region

MOSCOW: Ukrainian forces struck an electrical equipment factory in Russia’s Bryansk region close to the border with Ukraine, destroying much of the plant but causing no casualties, the local governor said on Sunday.

Governor Alexander Bogomaz, whose region borders both Ukraine and Belarus in the far west of Russia, said on the Telegram messaging app that the Ukrainian strike had destroyed workshops and administrative buildings at the factory in the village of Suzemka.

Mash, a Telegram channel with links to Russia’s security services, said the factory produced electrical equipment, including transformers. It said it had been struck using a Grad rocket system.

Mash posted video of a large plume of smoke, coiling above a factory. Reuters was unable to verify the footage.

In Ukraine, a senior government official said the factory specialised in the production of electronic equipment for Russia’s defence industry.

“According to preliminary information, the Strela factory in Suzemka, Bryansk Region, is no longer operational following the strike,” Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Centre for Countering Disinformation, added in a post on Telegram.

Ukraine has targeted Russian industrial facilities that it suspects of producing equipment for Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine since the beginning of full-scale hostilities in February 2022.