Kiev targets key Russian explosives plant – DW – 10/22/2025

Russian forces launched another attack overnight on Ukraine’s Poltava region, damaging oil and gas facilities in the Mirhorod district, regional officials said early Wednesday.

“This night, the enemy once again attacked the Poltava region. As a result of direct attacks and falling debris, oil and gas industry facilities in the Mirhorod district were damaged. Fortunately, there were no casualties,” regional governor Volodymyr Kohut said in a statement.

He urged residents to “stay in shelters until the air raid warning is lifted.”

The postponement of a planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has eased concerns among Ukraine’s EU allies.

European capitals were nervous about the prospect of the EU’s most Russia-friendly member hosting talks on the continent’s security in Budapest.

Attention now turns to major summits in Brussels and London this weekend, where European leaders will try to secure new financial support for Kiev and persuade Trump to step up pressure on Moscow.

“Russia’s containment strategy has repeatedly shown that Ukraine is the only party that is serious about peace. We can all see that Putin is choosing violence and destruction,” top EU officials, as well as the leaders of Ukraine, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Finland, Denmark, Spain and Sweden, said in a joint statement Tuesday.

“We must increase pressure on Russia’s economy and its defense industry until Putin is ready to make peace. We are developing measures to harness the full value of Russia’s stable sovereign assets so that Ukraine has the resources it needs,” the statement said.

Ukraine’s military said late Tuesday that it had launched a combined missile and air strike on a chemical plant in Russia’s Bryansk region, which it said was vital to Moscow’s war efforts.

“A massive combined missile-and-air strike was carried out, including air-launched Storm Shadow missiles, which penetrated Russia’s air defense system,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a statement on Telegram. “The results of the strike are being assessed.”

The targeted facility was described as a “major plant” producing gunpowder, explosives and rocket fuel. The claim could not be independently verified.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defense units destroyed 57 Ukrainian drones in the Bryansk region on Tuesday afternoon and caused no damage. Regional governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram that drones and missiles had targeted the area but no injuries or destruction were recorded.

According to official information, the Bryansk plant is one of Russia’s leading producers of explosives used in artillery shells and weapons.

Welcome to DW’s coverage of the latest developments in the Russian war on Ukraine.

Join us after Ukraine’s military says it has targeted a major chemical plant in Russia’s Bryansk region in a major missile and air strike.

The facility reportedly produces gunpowder, explosives and rocket fuel vital to Moscow’s war effort.

Kiev said air-launched Storm Shadow missiles were used to breach Russian air defenses, the consequences of which were still being assessed.

Stay tuned for the latest news and analysis from the ongoing war.