Ukraine’s Drone STRIKE Leaves Putin FURIOUS and EXPOSED

Ukraine just launched a devastating trio of drone strikes deep into Russian territory—taking out key factories producing air defense systems and explosive warheads. The message? Nowhere is safe. From Pantsir-S1s to Shahed drone payloads, Putin’s war machine just took a serious hit.

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Ukraine doesn’t have the one-hit knockout power to 
take out Russia. But that’s okay. Ukraine is fast.   Innovative. It’s capable of pulling off multiple 
strikes in short succession that decimate key   Russian facilities, weakening President Vladimir 
Putin’s war machine in the process. And that’s   just what it’s done over the weekend. Mere hours 
after Putin held his lavish Victory Day parade   in front of some of the world’s most important 
leaders, a series of Ukrainian drone strikes have   left Russia’s leader furious and exposed. Ukraine 
just sent a message: Russia can never hide away   from Ukraine’s retribution. May 11 brought news 
of a trio of massive drone strikes, with the first   focusing on a brand-new workshop Russia created in 
the Tula region. Dubbed the Scheglovsky Val plant   (Sheh-Glov-Ski Val), the facility was responsible 
for building something that Russia desperately   needs: Pantsir-S1 air defense systems. We’ll get 
to what those systems are so vital to Putin’s   plans soon. First, satellite imagery reveals that 
Ukraine’s daring drone strike took place on May 7,   just a day before Putin’s supposed ceasefire, 
leading to the workshop being left as little more   than rubble on the ground. Putin will be furious. 
Work had only been completed on the facility in   March 2025, meaning Russia got less than two 
months of use out of it before Ukraine took the   workshop out. Specifically, the satellite images 
show the complete destruction of the recently   finished plant expansion. A massive blackened 
area is also seen in the images, suggesting that   Ukraine’s drones caused a post-impact fire that 
Russia wasn’t able to put out easily. However,   you won’t see these images on Google’s satellite 
maps. The facility Ukraine destroyed is so new   that Google’s periodic image updating cycle 
hasn’t caught up. This also isn’t the first   time Ukraine has targeted the facility. Though it 
took out the new extension this time, it also hit   the Scheglovsky Val plant in January 2024, again 
with a drone strike, that caused fires and several   explosions at the factory. In even worse news for 
Putin, Scheglovsky Val wasn’t the only facility   Ukraine decimated on May 7. What happened at the 
plant was part of a larger drone strike that also   targeted a pair of other defense enterprises in 
Tula – NPO Splav and the JSC Konstruktorskoe Byuro   Priborostroeniya (Con-Struct-Or-Skoo Bye-E-Row 
Pre-Bo-Row-Story-Ne-Ya), of KBP. We don’t know   a huge amount about how successful those strikes 
were yet. However, both facilities are linked to   the massive Russian Rostec defense conglomerate 
and are responsible for producing weapons. NPO   Splav makes multiple-launch rocket systems, along 
with missiles and heavy flamethrower systems.   As for KBP, it builds precision-guided weapons 
ranging from artillery to the missiles used in   Russia’s air defense systems. Still, the highlight 
of the first of Ukraine’s three-punch drone combo   is taking out a plant that builds the Pantsir-S1. 
Why? That air defense system makes it much harder   for Ukraine to send drones and missiles Putin’s 
way. Codenamed SA-22 Greyhound by NATO, the   Pantsir-S1 combines a dozen 57E6 surface-to-air, 
or SAM, guided missiles with a pair of powerful   30-millimeter 2A38M automatic cannons that make it 
a clear threat to any incoming drones or missiles.   The system is equipped with a multi-range radar 
that enables it to detect aerial targets at a   range of around 20 miles, with the radar then 
tracking those targets down so the Pantsir-S1’s   missiles can hit them at around the 15-mile mark. 
Speaking of those missiles, they can hit aircraft   at a range of 12.4 miles and an altitude of 6.2 
miles. The system is also capable of taking out   subsonic cruise missiles, high-speed missiles, 
and drones, though it has to let all three come   a little closer than aircraft before it can hit 
them. If the SAMs fail, the pair of 30-millimeter   2A38M automatic cannons sends barrages of bullets 
at a target and is capable of scoring hits on   anything that falls within their 2.4-mile 
range. The air defense system’s missiles are   interesting. They’re arranged into two six-missile 
turrets built into the system, with each having a   bi-caliber body that makes them two-stage weapons. 
The missile’s first stage contains a booster,   enabling the Pantsir-S1’s missiles to accelerate 
rapidly within the first two seconds of being   fired. After hitting an appropriate speed, the 
booster separates, leaving behind the sustainer   stage. This stage contains the missile warhead 
and both a radio transponder and laser responder   that combine to enable guidance while in the air. 
However, the missile doesn’t come with its own   seeker, with guidance data for precision strikes 
instead being submitted via the radio link. Each   missile is believed to have a hit probability of 
between 75 and 90%, making a barrage of them fired   at a single target lethal. The weapon is also 
mobile. Putin’s forces move their Pantsir-S1s   around with 10-ton Ural-5323 trucks capable 
of housing the system’s turrets, components,   and crew. That gives Putin the option of moving 
his air defense systems to regions he believes   are most likely to be targeted rather than having 
to install a Pantsir-S1 and then leave it where   it lies. The system has proven valuable enough 
that several other countries buy Pantsir-S1s   from Russia regularly. Among them are Oman, 
Serbia, Syria, Vietnam, Iraq, and Iran, which   appear to predominantly buy a low-cost version of 
the system designed specifically for export. So,   the Pantsir-S1 is a vital part of Russia’s aerial 
defense plans. By taking out the new plant built   specifically to build more of these weapons, 
Ukraine has weakened Russia’s air defenses. That   matters because fewer Pantsir-S1s on the ground 
means more aerial pathways Ukraine can leverage   to send more drones and missiles in the future. 
This was a forward-thinking strike. Take out the   Pantsir-S1 factory today, and Ukraine clears the 
way for even more devastating drone attacks in the   future. So, Ukraine’s first hit in its three-punch 
combo already left Russia reeling. Putin has just   lost a facility extension into which he’d have 
poured tens of millions of dollars, along with   likely losing multiple Pantsir-S1s that were ready 
for shipping. Given that each of those systems   costs somewhere in the region of $13 million 
to $15 million, Ukraine just hit a blow that   weakened Russia both militarily and financially. 
And it only gets worse for Russia. While the Tula   region was being battered by drones, Russia also 
had to deal with a similar drone strike near its   capital city of Moscow. Again, the attack 
took place on May 7, seemingly as part of a   coordinated aerial assault, with Ukraine this time 
targeting the NPO Bazalt ammunition plant in the   Krasnoarmeysk (Cras-Nar-Me-Sk) region of Moscow. 
Militarnyi reported on the strike, noting that   it had obtained images from the CyberBoroshno 
open-source intelligence group that appeared to   indicate the impact Ukraine’s strike had. Smoke 
obscures much of the picture, which is a bad   enough sign for Putin, given that massive plumes 
of smoke indicate a direct hit. However, the smoke   clears just long enough to show what appears to be 
his munitions plant, which has absorbed a massive   impact. Eyewitness videos from the scene appear to 
show at least three explosions rocking the Russian   facility, which is owned by Rostec. Just like the 
facilities caught up in the secondary strikes in   Tula. This drone attack matters for two reasons 
– the company that was hit and the weapon Ukraine   has just taken out of the skies. Starting with the 
company, NPO Bazalt, which is a Rostec subsidiary,   operates research plants and production facilities 
through which it develops, produces, modernizes,   and even disposes of ammunition for all components 
of the Russian military. It’s a heavy-hitter when   it comes to military production, being responsible 
for making artillery shells, aerial bombs,   anti-tank weapons, and mortar rounds. In other 
words, explosives are NPO Bazalt’s stock in trade.   That’s where Ukraine’s May 7 drone strike comes 
into play. Beyond these fairly standard explosive   munitions, NPO Bazalt’s Moscow plant is believed 
to manufacture 110-pound warheads for the horde of   Iranian-made Shahed unmanned aerial vehicles, or 
UAVs, that Putin uses to pelt Ukraine with his own   aerial assaults. Specifically, that warhead is the 
OFZBCH-50, which is a high-explosive fragmentation   munition that also has incendiary qualities. The 
warhead hits hard and causes a lot of damage,   meaning Ukraine taking out one of Russia’s primary 
production facilities has resulted in Putin’s   Shahed drones becoming much less effective. Let’s 
hone in on those Shaheds for a moment. The primary   version of the UAV Putin uses is the Shahed-136. 
Capable of serving as both a loitering munition   and a kamikaze drone, with the latter purpose 
making use of the warheads Ukraine just took out,   the Shahed-136 is built in Iran and was unveiled 
in 2021. It’s seen a lot of use since then. Beyond   Russia buying the drone in heavy quantities, 
Iran also supplies the weapon to the Houthis   in Yemen. As of March 2025, Ukraine believes that 
Russia has launched 15,011 Shahed-type drones at   its cities and key military facilities, making 
the NPO Bazalt facility Ukraine just destroyed   a key cog in the machine that equips those drones 
with their explosive firepower. The Shahed-136’s   design uses the delta-wing configuration, 
featuring stabilizing rudders at the tops   and an engine in the rear of the fuselage. It’s 
small and relatively light, with a length of 11.4   feet and a weight of just 440 pounds. To get the 
drone to where it needs to go, the Shahed-136 is   equipped with a combination of commercial-grade 
GPS and an inertial navigation system. It’s far   from the most precise drone in the world. However, 
that combination of navigational features is   usually enough for Russia to successfully 
guide its Shaheds to the large targets it   wants to hit in Ukraine. The UAV’s 50-horsepower 
engine is enough to power it to a top speed of   about 114 miles per hour over a range of up to 
1,553 miles. That makes the Shahed-136 one of   the most useful long-range weapons Putin has 
in his arsenal. It’s cheap to produce, can be   deployed in large quantities, and, until Ukraine’s 
successful drone strike, could be equipped with an   explosive warhead that causes serious damage. 
Even when Russia isn’t using the drone for   attacking purposes, it can also be equipped with 
a camera that makes it a useful reconnaissance   tool. There’s not much Ukraine can do about 
that secondary use other than shooting the   drones out of the sky when it sees them. As for 
the Shahed-136’s kamikaze utility, Ukraine’s May 7   drone assault just took a huge bite out of Putin’s 
ability to weaponize his UAV horde. Russia isn’t   toothless when it comes to packing its Shahed-136s 
with explosives. Others can take the place of   those built at the NPO Bazalt facility. Still, 
each facility taken out amounts to fewer Shahed   drones in the skies and costs Putin millions of 
dollars. Don’t underestimate what Ukraine achieved   with the first two hits in its three-punch drone 
combo. By destroying a Pantsir-S1 production   facility, Ukraine lowered Russia’s defenses. The 
strike against the drone explosive manufacturing   factory just reduced Russia’s attacking power. 
And that brings us to the third drone attack   Ukraine launched against Russia. Coming four days 
after the first two hits, this strike targeted the   Bryansk (Bree-Yan-Sk) region, specifically the 
Strela radar electronics plant in that border   oblast. United 24 Media says that the attack 
caused a massive fire that decimated one of   the Bryansk facility’s main production buildings, 
along with taking out at least one of its storage   areas. And this attack will really anger Putin. 
The Bryansk facility was located just 6.2 miles   away from the Ukraine border, exposing just how 
poorly Russia defends regions that are well within   range of even Ukraine’s short-range drones. The 
Strela plant matters because it was known to be   fulfilling defense contracts on Putin’s behalf. 
And wouldn’t you just know it…the facility is   yet another that has close ties to Rostec. We’re 
starting to see a pattern with these strikes. It’s   clear that Ukraine identified several key cogs in 
the Rostec manufacturing machine and decided to   take them all out over four days. Specifically, 
the Strela plant specialized in building radio   and radar technical components, including coils, 
chokes, transformers, and interference filters.   Those components were then sent on to other 
defense manufacturers, which use them to build   everything from Russia’s domestically-made 
Shahed drones to the Tor air defense system.   We’ll have more on that system in a moment. Strela 
operated constantly. The factory had completed 124   government-issued contracts by the time it was 
destroyed, amounting to $2.1 million of work.   Plus, as we saw at the Tula plant, this wasn’t 
the first time that Ukraine targeted Strela. An   earlier attack on May 4 hit Strela with either 
drones or rockets, causing thick blankets of   smoke to rise from the facility’s production and 
administrative buildings. That strike injured two   security personnel. The attack that came just 
days later appears to have taken Strela out for   good. Militarnyi also has a report on the Strela 
attack, noting that satellite images from the   scene indicate that the facility’s production 
plant has been completely destroyed by a fire.   It also highlighted another attack on 
the facility, conducted on November 30,   2024, which damaged production facilities, 
a warehouse, and an administrative building.   Perhaps that attack was a test for Ukraine to see 
if it could hit Strela. Once it knew it could,   Ukraine developed a pair of follow-up strikes that 
hit the facility much harder. What does the loss   of Strela mean for Russia? Potentially, it leads 
to fewer of the country’s Tor M2s making it to   the field. Like the Pantsir-S1, the Tor M2 is a 
short-range air defense missile system that sends   volleys of missiles at incoming aerial targets. 
The system is a little weaker than the Pantsir-S1,   as it lacks the 30-millimeter gun and has two 
launchers, each capable of holding four missiles   in a ready-to-fire vertical position. However, 
being a little weaker than another air defense   system doesn’t make the Tor M2 useless. It’s 
capable of firing both 9M331 and 9M332 missiles,   which both employ a tubular airframe design that 
makes them streamlined enough to travel quickly   through the air. The Tor M2 is also designed for 
close contact. Its maximum range is around 7.4   miles, and it’s capable of hitting targets at 
altitudes up to 6.2 miles. Speaking of targets,   the Tor M2 can track 48 of them simultaneously. 
That’s a useful feature in itself. Though the   air defense system isn’t capable of taking 
out all 48 of those targets with the eight   missiles loaded into its launchers, it may be 
able to transmit its targeting data to other   air defense systems that can take out the incoming 
threats. Like the Pantsir-S1, the Tor M2 is mobile   and can be loaded onto vehicles for Russia to 
transport the defensive weapon to wherever it   might be needed. This time, the vehicle is an 
MZKT-6922, which is semi-hardened to protect   its crew from small arms fire and shrapnel. 
Once on the road and loaded with a Tor M2,   this vehicle is capable of traveling at speeds 
up to 49.7 miles per hour, making it quick enough   to evade slow-moving artillery fire. However, 
Ukraine could theoretically hit these vehicles   with kamikaze drones to disable them, much 
like we’ve seen it do against Russia’s tanks   and armored vehicles throughout the war. The 
problem for Ukraine is operating its drones in   Russian territory long enough to take out these 
vehicles. It was far easier and smarter to simply   take out the plant that builds the components for 
the Tor M2. All of this leads us to a question:   Just what has Ukraine achieved with its trio of 
drone strikes conducted over the last four days?   In the practical sense, it’s taken out facilities 
that produce several vital Russian weapons. The   loss of Pantsir-S1s and Tor M2s leaves Russia’s 
aerial pathways vulnerable. Ukraine can now safely   send drones and missiles into Russian airspace 
without worrying about them being shot down.   Specifically, it has less to worry about when 
its long-range weapons approach their targets   because it’s just taken out two facilities that 
manufacture air defense systems – or components   for systems – designed to operate at short range. 
Beyond enabling itself to ramp up the pressure on   Russia, Ukraine has also destroyed a plant that 
builds warheads for Russia’s Shahed drones. So,   Ukraine relieved pressure on itself. Practically 
every missile launch Putin conducts is accompanied   by these drones, whether as diversions or 
attacking threats designed to cause more   damage. Ukraine hasn’t made those drones useless. 
Russia still has plenty of them. However, it has   removed a facility that builds the explosives that 
those drones need, which minimizes Russia’s aerial   threat against Ukraine’s cities and military 
infrastructure. All of these practical outcomes   are vital, of course. However, it may be what this 
trio of strikes represents that is most important   to Ukraine. They’re important symbolically for 
two reasons – when and where they took place.   As for “where”, Ukraine just showed Putin that 
it can hit targets on Russian territory anytime   and almost anywhere. Putin now knows that his 
production facilities aren’t safe. Bear in mind   that all of the targets Ukraine just hit over the 
past four days would have been well defended. They   had to be. Putin wouldn’t be so stupid as to leave 
several of his key production plants unguarded,   given the value of what they build for his 
military. So, Ukraine just proved to Russia’s   leader that its long-range drones are capable of 
evading Russia’s aerial defenses even as they take   out facilities that exist to build those very 
air defenses. That has to hurt Russia’s leader.   In terms of timing, these three strikes came 
either side of the ceasefire that Putin attempted   to negotiate for Russia’s Victory Day parade. 
Russia hosted 29 world leaders at that parade,   most notably China’s Xi Jinping. That makes this 
trio of strikes a message. Ukraine didn’t attack   the parade directly. Doing so would have created 
geopolitical issues that could have potentially   brought more nations into its war against Russia. 
However, by attacking Russian facilities both on   the eve of the parade and after it happened showed 
the leaders who attended Putin’s little party that   they’re backing the wrong side. Russia isn’t as 
safe as Putin wants to make it appear. If it had   wanted, Ukraine could have hit the parade just as 
easily as it struck these three facilities. That   fact will stick in Putin’s craw as he attempts 
to adapt to the fact that he just lost three key   factories that built weapons for his marauding 
military. But what do you think about Ukraine’s   trio of drone strikes that took place over the 
past few days? How impactful will they be on   the war, given the nature of what the attacked 
facilities produced? How will Putin adapt to the   loss of so many important factories? Share your 
thoughts with us in the comments and remember to