Moscow [Russia], January 13: Russia said on Monday it had knocked out an aircraft repair plant in an attack last week on the western Ukrainian city of Lviv using an Oreshnik medium-range missile, which is capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
The Russian Defence Ministry said the Lviv State Aviation Repair Plant was "disabled" in Friday's strike, citing "information confirmed by several independent sources."
The Russian ministry said the facility had been repairing US-supplied F-16 fighter jets and producing combat drones. It claimed production and storage halls containing completed drones were hit, along with infrastructure at the plant's airfield.
The statement also said that the production facilities of two drone manufacturers in Kiev were destroyed at the same time.
Moscow's account contradicted claims by Ukraine that the airstrikes targeted civilian infrastructure and facilities. Russia has repeatedly said that damage to civilian sites resulting from its attacks is due to what it describes as failures of Ukraine's air defences.
According to Moscow, Ukrainian forces themselves strike residential areas, while the Russian army uses "high-precision weapons" to hit only militarily relevant targets. Independent experts have described such claims as not credible.
Source: Qatar Tribune
