Ukrainian drone strikes disrupt Russian arms industry supply
Ukrainians carried out drone attacks on Russian distilleries in the Tula and Voronezh regions. We explain why they are so important to the Russians.
After the attacks on the Russian oil industry, Ukrainians decided to target another key sector, which at first glance may seem unrelated to the arms industry. These are distilleries producing ethanol, which, apart from its use in the food industry, also has applications in missile production.
These are greatly needed in war, and Russia can meet only 30% of the demand. The remaining ammunition comes from North Korea (60%) and Iran (10%). For this reason, every hit on Russian production capabilities is very valuable. The video below shows a night attack and the drone hitting one of the tanks.
Alcohol essential for warfare
Due to 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, there are aerial bombs and tank ammunition. For example, the most popular Russian artillery shells of 122 mm calibre and 152 mm calibre contain 2.5-3.5 kilograms and 8 kilograms of explosives, respectively.
These shells allow Russian artillery to attack targets up to approximately 19 kilometres away, depending on the artillery system used. Systems with shorter barrels, such as the 2S1 Goździk, have a range of up to 14 kilometres, while D-74 guns with longer barrels can reach up to 24 kilometres using the same shells.
Significant needs of the Russians
Another extremely popular Russian weapon is the unguided rockets from multiple rocket launchers. For the most popular BM-21 Grad with 122 mm calibre, each 9M28F rocket contains 6 kilograms of explosives, and for 220 mm rockets 9M27F, it's approximately 50 kilograms.
Meanwhile, the fearsome FAB bombs with UMPK modules in the FAB-3000 variant weighing three tonnes require 1,500 kilograms of explosives. Meanwhile, the lighter variants, FAB-1500 and FAB-500, require 680 kilograms and 300 kilograms of TNT, respectively.
