Ukraine's Neptune missiles strike three drone sites in Rostov-on-Don

Ukraine's Navy used a Neptune coastal missile to strike three drone-related facilities in Rostov-on-Don, southern Russia, overnight on 13 November, Ukraine's General Staff announced.

The strikes hit the production site of Ionos LLC, described as a maker of tactical strike drones, and a storage site belonging to the same company. The third target was a service centre operated by Aero-Hit LLC, which the General Staff described as a maker of Veles strike and reconnaissance first-person view (FPV) drones, with production in Khabarovsk and a service centre in Rostov-on-Don.

Ukraine said the strikes aim to reduce the number of drones Russia launches at Ukrainian cities, positions and energy infrastructure, citing Article 51 of the UN Charter on the right to self-defence.

Rostov Region Governor Yuri Slyusar confirmed an overnight attack on Telegram without naming the facilities. He said more than 120 drones were destroyed over Rostov-on-Don and 10 districts of the region, that one man was wounded, and that five apartment buildings in the city were damaged. The claims have not been independently confirmed.

Neptune is a Ukrainian-made missile originally developed as an anti-ship weapon with a range of about 300 km. Ukraine used it in April 2022 to sink the Moskva, flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet. The missile has since been upgraded, reportedly to a range of up to 1,000 km.

The strike follows two earlier Neptune attacks on Russian military-industrial targets: the destruction of two Su-34 aircraft at Marinovka airfield in Volgograd region on 29 October, and a strike on the Proton-Elektroteks plant in Oryol on 7 November.