Russia’s alcohol empire suffers devastating quadruple blow
Ukraine drones bombed four different distilleries in Russia early Tuesday, in what has been reported by a Telegram outlet as the largest attack on alcohol production lines that are now potentially being used to fuel Moscow’s war effort.
At around 2 a.m. on October 22 explosions rang out as drones flew to the Tula region and attacked one distillery in Efremov town and another in Luzhkovsky, said Mash. A few hours later, at 5 a.m. there were reports of a drone attacking an alcohol plant in the Tambov region, resulting in a fire.
In the Novokhopersky district of the Voronezh region, another distillery, reported to be the largest plant in the region, was hit. A UAV damaged one of the workshops but that there were no casualties, it was reported.
Alcohol factories in Russia are being used to make fuel for military needs and explosives, as well as for the production of alcohol, according to a recent report.
Newsweek could not independently verify the information about the attacks, and has reached out to both the Ukrainian and Russian defense ministries for comment via email.
Explosions rang out in #Russia at night. Tula and Tambov regions were attacked by drones.
As the local authorities write, two distilleries were under attack in the Tula region. There is the company “Biochim”, which also produces alcohol, was also under attack in the Tambov… pic.twitter.com/qiS8H66d64
— Babel.ua: Ukraine at war (@UaBabel) October 22, 2024
Ukraine bombed the Bryansk, Belgorod, Kursk, Tula and Oryol regions in Russia this night.
Some of the targets was the Yefremovsky synthetic rubber plant and the thermal power plant in Yefremovo , Tula region. pic.twitter.com/JQPIU1zKrL
— Kvist.P 🇩🇰🇺🇦 (@kvistp) October 22, 2024
Explosions were also heard in the town of Yefremov in Tula, near the Yefremov Synthetic Rubber Plant and a thermal power plant in the Suzemka district of Bryansk was also attacked, according to a report from the Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that its forces managed to destroy 11 drones in the Bryansk region, three in Belgorod, two in Kursk, and one in both Tula and Orel, said Kosovo news outlet telegrafi.com.
“The premises of the Yefremov distillery and the distillery in the village of Luzhkovsky, Suvorov district, were damaged. Early reports say that there were no casualties. Emergency services are working at the scene. The situation is under control,” said Dmitry Milyaev, the governor of Tula, according to telegrafi.com.
Ukrainian Emergency Service/Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP
Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, was quoted by RBC Ukraine that alcohol factories in Russia are being used to make fuel and explosives for military needs, as well as for the production of alcohol, which explains why Ukraine is targeting the industrial plants.
There were also reports of drone activity previously in the early hours of October 20. Mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, wrote on Telegram that the Russian air defense forces in the Ramensky urban district “repelled an attack by a drone flying towards Moscow.”
He added that there was “no destruction and no casualties,” and that emergency services specialists were working at the scene.
Governor of Lipetsk Igor Artamonov said on Telegram that “UAVs were suppressed in the skies over Lipetsk and the Lipetsk Moscow Region. Special services are working at the site of the fall of the wreckage.”
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