Ukrainian drones attack large ammunition depot in Voronezh Oblast, source says

Photo for illustrative purposes. A drone operator with the 22nd Separate Mechanized Brigade poses for a photo at a position near the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast on Sept. 23, 2023. (Asami Terajima/The Kyiv Independent)

Russian air defense units destroyed "several drones" over Russia's Voronezh Oblast overnight on July 7, Governor Aleksandr Gusev claimed on his Telegram channel.

Falling drone debris caused a fire in one of the warehouses and the detonation of unidentified explosives in the Podgorensky district, according to the governor.

Later in the day, a law enforcement source told the Kyiv Independent that Ukrainian drones operated by the Security Service of Ukraine struck a large ammunition depot in the village of Sergeevka in Voronezh Oblast.

"On an area of nine square kilometers, the enemy stored surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, shells for tanks and artillery, and boxes of ammunition for firearms," the source said.

Russia reportedly supplies ammunition from this warehouse to its troops in Ukraine, the source added.

As of around 9:30 a.m. local time, Gusev announced that a state of emergency had been introduced within the Podgorensky district, where "debris from a Ukrainian drone fell."

Read also: Ukraine’s military intelligence says it set fire to ammunition depot in Russia’s Voronezh Oblast

The Russian Defense Ministry, on the contrary, did not report downing drones over Voronezh Oblast. On July 7, it reported the downing of one drone over the Belgorod Oblast.

The Voronezh Oblast borders Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast, partially occupied by Russian forces.

Ukrainian "kamikaze" drones operated by Ukraine's military intelligence attacked a gunpowder plant in the town of Kotovsk in Russia's Tambov Oblast, a military intelligence source told the Kyiv Independent on July 4.

Ukrainian forces regularly conduct drone strikes and sabotage acts on Russian territory, targeting military assets, oil refineries, and industrial facilities.