On the night of May 17, a number of cities in the Moscow region of the Russian Federation reported drone attacks. According to preliminary information, the sanctioned semiconductor plant Angstrem JSC and the Elma technopark in Zelenograd, the Sonechnogorsk oil products filling station, and Sheremetyevo airport were temporarily suspended.
This is reported by local Telegram channels.
Explosions were heard overnight in the Russian cities of Klin, Zelenograd, Skhodnya, Khimki, Dedovsk, and Durykino. Eyewitnesses reported that columns of black smoke rose above some settlements and fires broke out.
In particular, in the city of Zelenograd, one of the enterprises of JSC “Angstrem” was probably attacked. This is a developer and manufacturer of semiconductor products (from discrete transistors to modern microcontrollers and microprocessors), which is under US sanctions. Also, according to preliminary information, the Elma technopark was attacked, where a large-scale fire was recorded.
The technopark, with a total area of 60 thousand m2 and located on a six-hectare site, is home to over 150 residents. It is noted that the main activities of the resident enterprises of the technopark “ELMA-ZELENOGRAD” are “production of electronic equipment, production of control and measuring instruments, optical equipment, processing of various materials, research and development activities, the field of information technologies, production of consumer goods.”
There are also reports of a hit on the territory of the Sonyachnohirska oil products filling station in the village of Durykine. Local residents note that a large-scale fire broke out there.
This facility is a large fuel and bulk terminal in the Moscow region, part of the system of main oil pipelines around Moscow and used for the storage, pumping and shipment of gasoline and diesel fuel. The station has numerous fuel storage tanks.
In addition, Sheremetyevo Airport has suspended operations due to a massive drone attack; in particular, footage from local public media shows a small fire and thick black smoke near the airport.
The residential sector has also been hit by drones, in particular, drones have been recorded hitting residential high-rise buildings in Khimki, Zelenograd, and Moscow.
According to Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov, the drone attack on the region began at around 3 a.m. The official said that in Khimki, a woman died when a drone hit a private house, and another person is currently under the rubble. A man and a woman also died in the village of Pogorilky, where a drone hit an unfinished building.
In Krasnogorsk, a drone was recorded hitting an apartment building, damaging several apartments. Vorobyov added that infrastructure facilities were hit in a number of other municipalities.
“In Istra, UAVs hit residential buildings: an apartment building in Didivsk on Kosmonavtiv Street and six private houses in the village of Agromistechko. According to preliminary information, three men and one woman were injured. All are receiving medical assistance. Another private house caught fire as a result of a UAV crash in the village of Subotino (Naro-Fominsk district). According to preliminary information, there are no injuries,” Vorobiev wrote.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that over the past 24 hours, more than 120 UAVs allegedly flying towards the Russian capital have been shot down. According to him, 12 people were injured as a result of drone strikes. In particular, a construction crew was injured near the Moscow Oil Refinery (MRPZ) crossing. He assured that the technological process of the plant was not disrupted, but three buildings were damaged.
In general, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that on the night of May 17, Russian air defense allegedly shot down 556 Ukrainian drones over the territories of Belgorod, Kaluga, Kursk, Orel, Bryansk, Voronezh, Tula, Smolensk, Pskov, Lipetsk, Tver, Rostov regions, Krasnodar Territory, Moscow Region, as well as temporarily occupied Crimea and the waters of the Black and Azov Seas.