Neptune missiles struck Russian energy infrastructure, oil refineries, Ukraine confirms
Editor's note: This is a developing story.
Ukraine’s Navy confirmed that its forces used domestically produced Neptune cruise missiles to strike major Russian energy facilities overnight on Oct. 31.
The missiles hit the Oryol Thermal Power Plant (TPP) and the Novobryansk electrical substation in Russia’s Oryol Oblast, the Ukrainian Navy reported. Both facilities supplied power to military-industrial plants in the region, and their destruction "dealt a serious blow to the occupiers’ logistics."
"The Ukrainian military continues to demonstrate that no enemy rear is safe," the Navy added on Telegram.
Originally, Neptune was Ukraine’s ground-launched, domestically produced anti-ship rocket with a maximum range of 300 kilometers which it famously used in April 2022 to sink Russia’s Black Sea flagship, the Moskva.
Ukraine has since produced a number of upgraded versions.
Residents of the city of Oryol previously reported explosions during the night, the Russian opposition news channel Astra said. Surveillance footage captured the attack on the plant, showing a large blast.
Oryol Oblast Governor Andrey Klychkov claimed that the Oryol TPP was struck by debris from intercepted drones, "causing damage to power supply equipment." He also said that no fires or casualties were reported and that emergency services were at work at the scene.
Repairs are ongoing and power has been "almost completely restored," Klychkov claimed.
Prior to the attack, Klychkov had warned of a missile threat in the region. Local residents reported that the attack did not sound like drones, according to Astra.
Footage analyzed by Astra showed two strikes on the Oryol plant, resulting in blackouts over the city.
The Oryol TPP has an electrical capacity of at least 330-megawatts (MW) and is owned by RIR Energo, one of Russia's largest territorial generating companies and a division of the state energy company Rosatom.
Multiple explosions were also reported in the Russian cities of Vladimir and Yaroslavl, according to Russian Telegram news channels. Local residents claimed air defenses were operating in both areas.
According to open-source analysis by Astra, the attacks in Vladimir targeted an electrical substation, one of the region's major energy facilities. The "Vladimir" substation has a capacity of approximately 4.010 MVA and serves as a hub for the region's power system.
Footage by local residents shows flames rising from the substation.
Vladimir Oblast Governor Alexander Avdeyev confirmed a strike on a facility near Vladimir, though he did not mention the substation specifically.
"The enemy carried out an attack on infrastructure near the city of Vladimir. All systems are currently operating normally. Specialists are working on site," he said.
In Yaroslavl, explosions were reported near the Novo-Yaroslavsky oil refinery. The refinery is the fifth-largest in Russia, with an annual processing capacity of 15 million tons of crude oil.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims at the time of publication.
The alleged strikes come a day after Russian forces launched a mass missile and drone attack against Ukraine's energy infrastructure overnight on Oct. 30. According to DTEK, the largest private energy company in Ukraine, Russia struck multiple thermal power plants across the country.
Russia later on Oct. 30 attacked the Sloviansk Thermal Power Plant in Donetsk Oblast, killing two people and injuring others.
President Volodymyr Zelensky called Russia's assault on Ukraine's energy facilities "exclusively terror."
Tania Myronyshena
