Russia Claims to Have Struck Key Ukrainian Aviation Repair Depot

According to Russian-aligned Telegram pages the massive missile and drone attack against Ukraine on Movember 24th succeeded in at least one of its goals, striking the Plant 410 Civil Aviation or the Aircraft Repair Plant 140. Russian state owned media made this announcement:."An aircraft plant in Kyiv, near the Zhulyany airport, came under a Russian missile attack. The coordinator of the pro-Russian Nikolaev underground, Sergei Lebedev, reported this to RIA Novosti, citing data from his Kyiv comrades and providing video footage of the explosions. The strike itself took place on the night of November 24th. In the video, the sounds of an anti-aircraft installation of the Ukrainian air defense forces are first heard, after which bright flashes occur and the sounds of explosions are heard. We are talking about the State Enterprise Plant 410 of Civil Aviation, which is included in the list of enterprises of strategic importance, and since 2015 – in the Ukrainian military state concern Ukroboronprom.".This site provides key depot-level maintenance to a variety of Ukrainian aircraft, including but not limited to An-24, An-26, An-30, An-32 aircraft and their modifications; testing and restoration of An-72, An-74 aircraft and their modifications; repair of D-36 engines for Yak-42 and An-74 aircraft; maintenance of Ka-26..The night of the 24th and the following twenty four hours saw more than 87 Shahed-136 launches and 100 missile strikes from the Russian Federation. However, what is most surprising about this reported successful attack is the proximity to to the Kyiv Zhuliany International Airport where Ukraine has a robust air defense network. The over saturation of the Ukrainian integrated air defense system seems to be overwhelming the strategic and tactical air defense assets stationed at that airfield. While Ukraine has not commented on Russian claims of striking 410, any lapse in operational capability would severely hamper domestic ability to repair the fledgling Ukrainian Air Force.