Last night, Russia attacked civilian targets in several regions of Ukraine. Both energy facilities and other non-military infrastructure were targeted. Odessa, Dnipro, Pavlohrad were hit, and some strikes reached Kyiv.
The map shows the main locations of Russian attacks in Kharkiv region yesterday/night, where civilians and civilian infrastructure were affected.
- In Lozova (80 km from the nearest front-line point) – 2 people were killed (including an 88-year-old woman), 6 injured.
- In the Balakliia community (50+ km from the front line), Russia attacked a medical transport vehicle with a drone. Besides the medic and driver, it carried 3 patients returning home after hemodialysis. One woman was killed, and others were injured.
- In Barvinkove (attack on a supermarket, 55 km from the front line) – 13 people were injured. The strike occurred around 17:30 with a clear aim to inflict maximum casualties.
- In Zolochiv, two teenagers were attacked with an FPV drone; both were injured.
And so on. There were no even remotely military targets.
The Russians are intensifying deliberate attacks on civilians in Kharkiv region. Three-quarters of the region is essentially territory adjacent to the front line.
Yesterday, the air defense highlighted four successful medium-range strikes.
Three Tor SAM systems and one Osa were destroyed. These are reliable, low-maintenance systems that protected Russian troops in the occupied territories of Donetsk and Kherson regions. This will make things harder for the occupiers.
In Michurinsk (Tambov region), drones struck the Progress factory. This is an important defense-industrial facility, more details later.
In Ukhta (Komi), some smoke was reported at the Lukoil refinery.
Meanwhile, a strike hit the GRU arsenal near Kotluban village (Volgograd region). This is a large facility—worth checking on the map for context.
The arsenal was designed to minimize damage. Being located in the steppe, unlike “forest” arsenals, it has more robust engineering protection. Some modernization was carried out, including concrete storage instead of open lots.
Videos of secondary detonations have already appeared online. The full scale of the damage is not yet clear; updates will follow. But the fact is that the attack was definitely successful. Evacuations of nearby settlements are underway.
This is at least the fifth known attack on this arsenal. It was previously hit on November 16 and 24, 2023, March 8, and September 29, 2024. Confirmed damage was reported only in November 2023, when one of the small-arms ammunition warehouses was affected.
A week ago, an “empty freight wagon” derailed near the area. No clear explanation was given.
In May 2024, near Kotluban station (Samofalovka settlement, where the branch to the arsenal begins), 9 freight wagons derailed. One fuel tank exploded due to a drone attack. The Volga Railway officially attributed this to “third-party interference” involving “scrap metal theft,” which led to the train accident.
In other words, the location is “well-known.” It is no surprise to the Russians that Ukraine is targeting this arsenal. Given that attacks in Volgograd region have continued for two days, there are two hypotheses:
- Our forces managed to wear down Russian air defenses.
- The strike used something that the air defenses could not counter effectively.
In general:
- Ukraine is successfully striking Russian military facilities.
- Russia is killing Ukrainian women and children in the rear.
This is relevant to the discussion on negotiation tactics…
