Russia was attacked by missiles and drones overnight, and large-scale fires broke out in several regions
On the night of 21 July, explosions were heard across a number of Russian regions, followed by large-scale fires at industrial sites. This was reported by monitoring Telegram channels and Russian officials.
In the Lipetsk region, a missile and drone alert was issued in the evening. Local residents reported explosions, and a large-scale fire subsequently broke out in the eastern part of Lipetsk.
Igor Artamonov, Governor of the Lipetsk region, stated that the fire, covering an area of around 2,500 square metres, broke out in an open-air area of industrial facilities on Peredelskaya Street. He said that the cause of the fire and details of any possible casualties were still being ascertained.
According to an analysis of eyewitness footage published by the ASTRA Telegram channel, the epicentre of the fire is located between the Lipetsk Thermal Power Station No. 2 and the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant. No official information has been provided regarding exactly which facility was affected.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian monitoring Telegram channel Supernova reported that the fire broke out at a logistics warehouse on Almazna Street, where the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant’s facilities are located. Other rumours circulating online regarding a possible fire at the Indesit factory have not been officially confirmed.
Explosions were also heard last night in Volgograd, where a missile alert had been issued for the region.
In addition, a large-scale fire broke out in the Vsevolozhsky District of the Leningrad Region. According to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, a warehouse and production building caught fire on the site of the ‘Ladoga’ industrial park. The fire covered an area of 5,900 square metres.
According to publicly available information, the companies ‘Terra Plast’, ‘Mixplast’ and ‘Centre for Radiation Technologies’ operate within the industrial park. More than 50 firefighters and 20 pieces of equipment were deployed to tackle the blaze. In the morning, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that the fire had been brought under control.
There were also reports of drone attacks on Anapa in the Krasnodar Krai and a series of explosions in Belgorod. According to the Exilenova+ Telegram channel, local residents reported disruptions to the water supply, which they attributed to possible damage to energy infrastructure. There was no official confirmation of this information.
The Russian Ministry of Defence stated that, during the night, air defence and electronic warfare forces had allegedly intercepted 209 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory.
