Ukrainian drone strikes disrupt Russian missile production

Following the attacks on the Russian oil industry, Ukrainians decided to strike another key sector, which at first glance may seem unrelated to the arms industry. These are distilleries producing ethanol, which, aside from the food industry, also plays a role in missile production.

These resources are in great demand in wartime, and Russia can meet only 30% of its needs. The remaining munitions come from North Korea (60%) and Iran (10%). For this reason, every hit on Russian production capabilities is tremendously valuable. The video below shows a night attack and the drone striking one of the tanks.

Due to its availability and low production costs, Russia uses ethanol as a solvent in explosive material factories. This substance is one of the components in the production of TNT, which is the most common filler for bombs and shells.

Both Russia and Ukraine use several thousand artillery shells daily, in addition to aerial bombs and tank ammunition. For example, the most popular Russian artillery shells, with calibres of 122 mm and 152 mm, contain 2.5-3.5 kg and 8 kg of explosives, respectively.

These shells enable Russian artillery to attack targets up to approximately 19 km away, depending on the artillery system used. Systems with shorter barrels, such as the 2S1 Goździk, have a range up to 14 km, while D-74 guns with longer barrels reach up to 24 km using the same shells.

Another extremely popular Russian weapon is the unguided rockets from multiple rocket launchers. For the most popular BM-21 Grad with a 122 mm calibre, each 9M28F rocket contains 6 kg of explosives, and for the 220 mm rockets 9M27F, it's approximately 50 kg.

Meanwhile, the fearsome FAB bombs with UMPK modules in the FAB-3000 variant weighing three tonnes require as much as 1,500 kg of explosives. Meanwhile, the lighter variants, FAB-1500 and FAB-500, require 700 kg and 300 kg of TNT, respectively.