Ukrainian drone strikes hit Russian missile-fuel and launch-complex facilities overnight
On the night of 9 October 2026, Ukraine's Defence Forces struck Russian facilities tied to missile launches and rocket-fuel production, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said. Three missile-related targets were confirmed hit: a branch of the Barmin Research Institute of Launch Complexes near Dalneye Konstantinovo-5 in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, the Centre for Elimination of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles near Surovatikha in the same oblast, and the Redkino Research Plant in Tver Oblast. Fires broke out at the Redkino plant; the regional governor said no workers were hurt. Reports also describe simultaneous drone strikes on an oil depot north of Belgorod, the Ukhta refinery in the Komi Republic, and sites in Kaluga Oblast.
Key points
- General Staff confirmed strikes on three missile-industrial sites: Barmin Institute branch (Dalneye Konstantinovo-5, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast), Centre for Elimination of ICBMs (Surovatikha, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast), and Redkino Research Plant (Tver Oblast).
- Redkino plant produces the 'Detsilin-M' fuel component for Kh-55 and Kh-101 cruise missiles and is under international sanctions.
- Fire broke out at the Redkino plant; Tver Oblast Governor Vitaly Korolyov said workers were evacuated and none were injured.
- Overnight drone attacks also reported at an oil depot north of Belgorod, the Ukhta refinery in the Komi Republic, and in Kaluga Oblast, where Governor Vladislav Shapsha said nine people were injured, five hospitalized.
- President Zelenskyy said the Ukhta target, about 1,900 km from the border, was struck by An-196 RS drones capable of flying around 2,500 km; modified FP-1/FP-6 drones were used against the Omsk refinery the previous day.
- Russian Defence Ministry said 505 Ukrainian drones were intercepted overnight over Russian regions, occupied Crimea, and the Black and Azov Seas.
- Moscow airports Domodedovo, Vnukovo, and Zhukovsky were closed from around midnight to 7 a.m. on 9 October, according to Rosaviatsia.
Why it matters
The strikes hit facilities directly tied to Russia's missile production chain: the Redkino plant supplies a key fuel component for Kh-55 and Kh-101 cruise missiles, the Barmin Institute branch services launch complexes and missile control systems, and the Surovatikha centre works on explosives and rocket fuel for ICBMs. Degradation of these sites could constrain Moscow's ability to produce and launch cruise and intercontinental missiles. The operation also demonstrated Ukrainian drone reach deep into Russia, with targets between roughly 740 km and 1,900 km from the border, and was framed by the General Staff as an exercise of self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter — a deliberate legal-messaging choice.
What happened
On the night of 9 October 2026, Ukraine's Defence Forces struck several Russian military-industrial facilities involved in missile launches and rocket-fuel production, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Three missile-related targets were officially confirmed hit: a branch of the Scientific Research Institute of Launch Complexes named after Barmin (a branch of JSC Centre for Operation of Ground Space Infrastructure Objects) near Dalneye Konstantinovo-5 in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, which works on launch complexes, fueling equipment and missile control systems; the Centre for Elimination of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles near Surovatikha in the same oblast, involved in explosives and rocket-fuel production; and the Redkino Research Plant in Tver Oblast, which manufactures the 'Detsilin-M' fuel component for Kh-55 and Kh-101 cruise missiles as well as additives for diesel fuel and aviation kerosene, and which is under international sanctions. A fire broke out at the Redkino plant after the strike; Tver Oblast Governor Vitaly Korolyov said workers were evacuated in time and no employees were injured, and the fire was later extinguished. Reports from the same overnight wave also described drone strikes on an oil depot north of Belgorod, on the Ukhta oil refinery in the Komi Republic (where a fire also broke out), and on sites in Kaluga Oblast, where Governor Vladislav Shapsha said private houses were damaged and nine people were injured, five of them hospitalised. Russia's Defence Ministry said 505 Ukrainian drones were intercepted overnight over Russian regions, occupied Crimea, and the Black and Azov Seas; Moscow airports Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky were closed from around midnight to 7 a.m. President Zelenskyy said the Ukhta refinery, about 1,900 km from the border, was hit by An-196 RS drones with a range of around 2,500 km, and that modified FP-1/FP-6 drones had been used against the Omsk refinery the previous day.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian outlets centre coverage on the General Staff's official confirmation of three named missile-related targets — the Barmin Institute branch, the Centre for Elimination of ICBMs, and the Redkino Research Plant — and frame the operation as Ukraine exercising its inherent right to self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter. Reporting highlights the strategic role of each facility: cruise-missile fuel components at Redkino, launch complexes and missile control systems at the Barmin Institute, and explosives and rocket-fuel production at the Surovatikha centre. Ukrainian media pair the missile-facility strikes with simultaneous drone attacks on oil infrastructure (Ukhta, the Belgorod depot, Kaluga Oblast) and quote President Zelenskyy on the long-range drones used against Ukhta and Omsk, while recalling that the Redkino plant was previously struck in June 2024 and February 2026.
How international sources describe it
The single non-Ukrainian source in the set, an English-language Azerbaijani agency filing, focuses on Zelenskyy's confirmation of strikes on the Omsk and Ukhta oil refineries. It omits the General Staff's three missile-industrial targets and the legal self-defence framing, and instead presents the operation primarily through the lens of drone-enabled strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, with Zelenskyy as the quoted spokesperson.
Where reporting differs
Sources differ on whether the overnight wave should be described as missile-facility strikes or as a broader drone campaign. The General Staff-confirmed core story covers three missile-related sites in Nizhny Novgorod and Tver oblasts; several Ukrainian outlets and the Azerbaijani agency also place attacks on the Ukhta and Omsk refineries and the Belgorod oil depot inside the same overnight operation, while the General Staff itself highlights only the three missile-industrial targets.
Background
The Redkino Research Plant in Tver Oblast, producer of the 'Detsilin-M' fuel component for Kh-55 and Kh-101 cruise missiles, had previously been struck in June 2024 and in February 2026, when a large fire broke out on its grounds; the plant is under international sanctions. On 8 October 2026, the day before these strikes, Ukraine's Defence Forces hit the Omsk oil refinery, described by the General Staff as Russia's most powerful refinery with capacity of more than 21 million tonnes a year. Since the start of 2026, Ukrainian forces are reported to have struck Russian refineries more than 70 times and put several dozen out of service; according to EA Analytics, Russian oil refining fell to its lowest level since 2002, and in August 2026 six large Russian refineries stopped for repairs. On 20 September 2026, US President Donald Trump reportedly called President Zelenskyy and urged Ukraine to stop strikes on Russian oil refineries.