Russia says it shot down 17 drones near Moscow; 3 killed in strike in Oryol
Key Facts
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian air defenses shot down 17 drones heading toward the city on the afternoon of October 23. On the same day, Ukraine’s General Staff said the main production building of Proton-Electrotex in Oryol was hit in strikes carried out by Ukrainian forces. The General Staff said the strike complicates production of missile components Russia uses against Ukrainian cities. Oryol Governor Andrei Klychkov said a Ukrainian missile strike on a facility in the city killed 3 people. The governor did not identify the facility’s location, and available information does not link the Oryol strike to the drone attacks near Moscow.
Proton-Electrotex produces components for S-71 Kovyor cruise missiles and Iskander-M ballistic missiles, according to Ukraine’s General Staff. The General Staff said the company also participates in producing Pantsir-S1 air defense systems. These links place the facility in the supply chain for components used in Russian offensive and defensive weapons, while Kyiv said the hit on the main production building complicates production. Oryol is about 160 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, according to a report by The Kyiv Independent citing a Ukrainian monitoring channel. The governor did not identify the location hit in the strike he said caused fatalities, so it cannot be established that the death toll is linked to the Proton-Electrotex building.
At the same time, Russian authorities imposed temporary flight restrictions at Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports because of a drone threat targeting the capital. Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency said restrictions on aircraft arrivals and departures were necessary to ensure flight safety. FlightRadar24 reported that 85 flights were canceled and 229 others delayed at Sheremetyevo on October 23. The available figures did not include a comparable tally for the other three airports. Authorities had said the restrictions were temporary, while Reuters described the measure as a temporary suspension of flights at the four airports.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned airlines, insurers and foreign governments on September 1 that Russian airspace would become “closed in practice” because of Ukrainian drones. The Associated Press said Kyiv had stepped up drone raids, focusing on energy facilities and arms factories. Ukraine’s General Staff also said the Tolyattikauchuk plant in the city of Tolyatti was hit in a separate strike, with an explosion and fire reported near the facility. The General Staff said this attack was separate from the Oryol strike and the drone threat near Moscow. The events bring together attacks on Russian industrial facilities and disruption to air traffic near the capital, without establishing that they were part of a single operation.