443 Drones Downed: Russian Airfield, Chemical Plant and Tax Data Center Targeted in Overnight Attacks

Ukrainian Drones targeted infrastructure facilities across several Russian regions overnight on Oct. 22-23, with fires reported near the Baltimor military airfield in Voronezh. Russian officials reported damage to residential buildings and industrial infrastructure, while authorities in Gorodets introduced restrictions following the reported damage to the data center.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Fire reported near military airfield in Voronezh A fire broke out near the Baltimor military airfield in Voronezh following the overnight attack, according to an analysis by the Russian outlet Astra. An OSINT analyst examined footage provided by eyewitnesses and determined that the fire had occurred in the vicinity of the airfield, with flames and smoke visible. Voronezh Region Governor Alexander Gusev said dry grass had caught fire due to falling debris.“Air defense forces on duty detected and destroyed several jet-powered aerial targets in the sky over Voronezh. According to preliminary data, there are no casualties. The fall of debris from the intercepted targets ignited dry grass in the suburbs; the fire has since been extinguished,” he wrote on his Telegram channel.He added that outbuildings in a garden cooperative (SNT) and several passenger cars sustained damage.Gusev had earlier warned of a potential missile threat in the region. In the early hours of Oct. 23, he also reported that drone debris had damaged the facade of an apartment building and a passenger car in Voronezh. Other Topics of Interest US Reportedly Plans to ‘Offer’ Ukraine EU Membership for Dropping NATO Bid The reported proposal includes a demilitarized zone in Donbas and economic incentives for Moscow. Ukraine has not announced its acceptance. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ reported that, according to preliminary information, the former Voronezh Military Aviation Engineering University and an adjacent military aircraft parking area had been The university specialized in training military aviation engineers, technicians, and aircraft maintenance specialists. In 2012, it was incorporated into the Zhukovsky and Gagarin Air Force Academy.“The extent of the damage and potential losses of aviation equipment are currently unknown. We are awaiting confirmation of the results,” the report stated.According to open-source data, the 47th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment is stationed at the Baltimor airfield. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the Russian Aerospace Forces have regularly used the airfield to launch airstrikes against Ukrainian territory.A fire near the Baltimor airfield was previously reported on Sept. 2. Before that, the airfield had been targeted in an attack on May 27.Chemical plant in Perm Krai reportedly hitMonitoring channels reported that the Azot plant in the city of Berezniki, Perm Krai, had been struck. The facility is owned by Uralchem, a company belonging to billionaire Dmitry Mazepin.Both Astra and Exilenova+ confirmed the reported strike through its own analysis. According to the outlet’s OSINT assessment, smoke was rising from the plant’s premises. The facility is located nearly 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) from the Ukrainian border. Perm Krai Governor Dmitry Makhonin said on Telegram that air defense forces and mobile fire groups had repelled a drone attack on Friday.“Twenty drones were shot down in the skies over Perm Krai. Emergency services are working at the sites where the debris fell... An industrial facility sustained minor damage. There are no casualties. Emergency services are on-site,” he wrote.Makhonin did not identify the industrial facility that had been damaged. He added that the response to the attack had also resulted in minor damage to the windows of two apartments in residential buildings in Berezniki and Solikamsk.The Azot plant manufactures various chemical products, including nitric acid, ammonium nitrate, and potassium nitrate, which are used, among other things, in the production of gunpowder and explosives.It is also the only plant in Russia that produces sodium nitrate and crystalline sodium nitrite. Azot was previously targeted in an attack on Sept. 11.Tax service data center reportedly damaged in Nizhny Novgorod regionIn the city of Gorodets in Nizhny Novgorod region, Ukrainian channels and Astra’s OSINT analysis reported damage to a data center belonging to Russia’s Federal Tax Service. The facility serves as a backup data center for the tax authority and has been operating since 2015. It was officially opened on Dec. 7, 2015, in a ceremony attended by then-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, and Mikhail Mishustin, who headed the Federal Tax Service at the time and is now Russia’s prime minister. United Russia, the country’s ruling party, said at the time that the Gorodets facility was part of a three-center system designated as Data Center No. 1. The system also includes the Federal Data Center in Dubna, Moscow region, and Data Center No. 2 in the settlement of Yerzovka in the Volgograd region.The facilities were designed to back one another up in the event of a failure, helping ensure the “continuity of service provision.”“Data Center No. 2 provides partial replication of the most critical services in the event of an emergency,” United Russia added.The centers can store not only tax information but also data from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (EGRUL), population records – including civil registry (ZAGS) data – cadastral records, and other information.Municipal authorities in Gorodets and the surrounding district introduced several restrictions following the attack, according to the news outlet NN.ru.Schools and colleges switched to remote learning, public events were canceled, and traffic across the dam of the Gorky Reservoir was suspended.Regional Governor Gleb Nikitin acknowledged damage following a drone attack, including damage to “one piece of infrastructure.” He also said three people had been injured “as a result of falling debris.” Following the reported attack on the Gorodets data center, Mikhail Klimarev, executive director of the Internet Protection Society, suggested on the radio station Echo of Moscow that the consequences could “collapse the entire tax system” and create serious problems for many Russians, who might have to prove their ownership of apartments and land plots.Russia reports 443 drones downedOn the morning of Oct. 23, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that air defenses had shot down 443 drones over the country. Nizhny Novgorod region and Perm Krai were among the regions listed as having been targeted.The Ukrainian side has not yet commented on any involvement in the reported attacks.