Ukraine strikes Russian military aircraft repair plant in Novgorod region

Ukraine's armed forces struck the 123rd Aircraft Repair Plant in Russia's Novgorod region overnight on Tuesday, a facility that services Russian military transport aircraft and A-50 airborne early warning planes, Ukraine's General Staff said. Air alerts sounded across the region after residents reported explosions and overhead drones.

The plant, in the town of Staraya Russa, is Russia's main repair and maintenance site for Il-76, Il-78 and L-410 military transport aircraft and their engines, according to Ukrainian monitoring channels cited by the Kyiv Post. Eyewitnesses cited by the Moscow Times and a Telegram monitoring channel reported fires at the plant, with emergency services sent to the scene; the extent of any damage had not been confirmed by Tuesday afternoon.

The facility is part of Rostec's United Aircraft Corporation and has been sanctioned by the European Union, the United States, Switzerland, Japan and Ukraine for supporting Russia's war effort, the Kyiv Post reported. Ukraine's General Staff said the strikes would keep Russian transport and special-mission aircraft grounded for longer and make it harder for Russia to return them to service.

The same plant was hit by four drones in March, when fires breached the roofs of its assembly and maintenance workshops and damaged the runway, according to the monitoring channel Krimsky Veter cited by the Kyiv Post. That attack also damaged a Russian A-50 aircraft, worth an estimated $330 million, that was at the site for maintenance.

Separately overnight, Russian-appointed authorities in occupied Crimea reported a drone attack on Sevastopol. Sevastopol's Russian-installed governor, Mikhail Razvozhaev, said air defences and mobile firing groups had shot down eight Ukrainian drones, with no casualties or damage to civilian infrastructure. Sevastopol and Staraya Russa are about 1,500 kilometres apart in a straight line.