Ukraine strikes three Russian drone facilities in Rostov-on-Don with Neptune missiles, military says
Ukrainian forces struck three facilities involved in producing, storing and servicing Russian military drones in Rostov-on-Don overnight on November 13, using domestically developed Neptune missiles, Ukraine's General Staff reported.
According to the military, the strikes were carried out with a Neptune coastal missile system operated by the Ukrainian Navy.
Two of the targets belonged to Ionos, a Russian company producing tactical strike drones. Ukrainian forces hit a drone production facility and a separate storage site operated by the company, the General Staff said.
The third target was a drone service center operated by Aero-Hit, a Russian manufacturer of Veles FPV attack and reconnaissance drones. The company manufactures its drones in Khabarovsk, in Russia's Far East, while the Rostov-on-Don facility provides maintenance and repairs for drones used by Russian troops.
The General Staff said the operation was intended to disrupt several stages of Russia's drone supply chain simultaneously — from manufacturing and storage to repairs.
It said the strikes would reduce the number of drones available for Russian attacks against Ukrainian troops and civilians.
The full extent of the damage and the number of drones destroyed have not been independently verified.
The Neptune is a Ukrainian-developed missile system originally designed for coastal defense. Ukraine has also used Neptune missiles to strike targets on land during Russia's full-scale invasion.