Ukrainian Air Force Finished Off Drone Facility at Tetkino Sugar Refinery

The Ukrainian Air Force carried out a follow-up airstrike on a drone warehouse and staging area for Russian drone operators located at the Tetkino Sugar Refinery, Ukraine’s General Staff reported.

The strike took place on April 19 and targeted a facility used by Russian forces to prepare, equip, and launch reconnaissance, strike, and FPV drones.

According to the statement, up to 20 drone operators were killed in the attack.

“This strike is a direct response to the enemy’s actions against Ukrainian forces. The Armed Forces will continue targeting elements of Russian military infrastructure. No war crime will go unpunished,” the General Staff’s statement reads.

The April 19 strike reportedly hit one of the plant’s workshops. A previous strike on April 13 targeted the refinery’s main workshop.

The type of weapon used in the latest attack was not disclosed. However, the earlier strike was conducted by a MiG-29 fighter jet using a French AASM (HAMMER) precision-guided bomb.

In 2023, the refinery filed a lawsuit against Russia’s Ministry of Defense, seeking ₽75 million in damages related to the occupation of the site. A Russian court dismissed the claim.

In late March, Ukrainian aircraft also struck a checkpoint on the grounds of the neighboring Tetkinozerno facility.

Russian forces had attempted to deploy a Murom long-range visual surveillance system and communications equipment at the site.

That strike reportedly targeted the upper floor of a building, possibly using a GBU-39 precision-guided glide bomb.