On the night of April 5, Ukraine carried out a large-scale drone attack on russia, successfully striking several facilities linked to the country’s defense-industrial complex. Among the primary targets was the Optikovolokonnye Sistemy plant, russia’s sole manufacturer of fiber-optic cables used in drones and other applications. The russian army has increasingly employed drones operated via optical fiber on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Local Telegram channels shared footage of the aftermath, and the head of the Republic of Mordovia, Artyom Zdunov, confirmed the strike on an unspecified "enterprise." He stated that security and emergency services were already working on site and claimed there were no casualties. The production premises of the company are located in the city of Saransk.
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Open sources indicate that Optikovolokonnye Sistemy produces approximately four million kilometers of fiber annually. While the extent of the damage remains unclear, the strike could disrupt russia’s production of fiber-optic drones, which today prove to be an effective battlefield asset.
The following morning, Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, governor of the Samara region, reported that Ukrainian drones had also attacked an industrial facility in Chapayevsk, sparking a fire.
While he did not specify the target, it is likely Promsintez JSC, a plant producing more than 30,000 tons of explosives annually. Another key facility in Chapayevsk is the Polimer plant, which also manufactures explosives.
pic.twitter.com/5aLfkxAkdE— Tracey SBU Fella #NAFO (@trajaykay) April 5, 2025
The targeted facilities are located deep inside russia: the one in Saransk is about 670 kilometers from Ukraine’s border and the other in Chapayevsk is roughly 900 kilometers from the battlezone.
However, russian state-affiliated media speculate that the drones may have traveled up to 1,500 kilometers, provided they flew not in a straight line but followed a more complicated route to evade enemy air defenses.
Officially, russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed to have intercepted 49 drones in total, including three over Mordovia and six over the Samara region.
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