Ukraine’s General Staff and Security Service (SBU) said Ukrainian forces struck a Russian defence-industrial facility in the port city of Taganrog overnight, reporting explosions and a fire at the Atlant Aero plant, which Kyiv says is involved in producing attack and reconnaissance drones and components for other unmanned systems.

In a statement published on 13 January, the SBU said its Alpha special operations centre, working with units of the Ukrainian Navy, hit the plant’s production buildings in Russia’s Rostov region. The agency said the impact caused “a series of loud explosions” and a fire at the site.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said the strike was carried out with “Ukrainian-made missiles” and described Atlant Aero as a facility that conducts a full cycle of design, manufacture and testing for “Molniya” strike-reconnaissance drones, as well as producing components for “Orion” unmanned aerial vehicles. Ukrainian officials said assessments of the damage were continuing.

The competing claims over the means of attack reflect the limited public information available from both sides. Russia’s Defence Ministry said it shot down 11 Ukrainian drones overnight, seven of them over the Rostov region, while the region’s governor, Yuriy Slyusar, confirmed an attack on Taganrog but did not identify a specific target.

Taganrog, on the Sea of Azov, has featured in previous long-range strike reporting. The Kyiv Independent noted that the plant had been targeted before, including an attack it said took place in June last year.

Ukraine’s statements also linked the Taganrog strike to a wider set of attacks against Russian forces and infrastructure. Ukrinform, citing the General Staff, reported additional strikes on targets in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, including air-defence systems and a radar station in Zaporizhzhia region, and an ammunition depot and further air-defence assets in Donetsk region.

The use of the term “Ukrainian-made missiles”, without naming a specific system, has prompted speculation among military commentators about which weapons might have been used. Ukrainian authorities have previously outlined a growing catalogue of domestically developed long-range strike capabilities. Reuters reported in November that Ukraine described its “Long Neptune” as a ground-launched land-attack cruise missile derived from the pre-war Neptune anti-ship missile, with a stated range of up to 1,000 km, and said it was increasing production.

Whether the Taganrog strike involved cruise missiles, drones, or a combined attack is likely to remain unclear in the near term. Both Russia and Ukraine have routinely withheld detail on specific systems and tactics, while much of the immediate evidence circulating online has been limited to brief videos and eyewitness posts.

The reported strike came as Russia carried out another large-scale missile and drone barrage against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. The Associated Press reported that Russian attacks overnight targeted multiple regions, contributing to power and heating outages amid sub-zero temperatures in Kyiv, while Ukrainian officials described continued pressure on the electricity grid. In parallel, Ukraine has sought to demonstrate its ability to hit military-related facilities inside Russia, including those linked to drone production.

For Kyiv, the significance of the Taganrog operation is tied to the role of drones in the war. Ukrainian officials argue that degrading Russian drone production can reduce the volume of strikes against Ukrainian targets.