Pro-Ukrainian Partisans Claim Strike on Russian Pantsir Missile Factory in Tula

The pro-Ukrainian partisan network Atesh announced that it carried out a strike on a defense factory in the Russian city of Tula, disabling communications at the site. According to their statement, the facility is part of Russia’s military-industrial complex, producing air defense systems, rapid-fire weapons, and small arms. The plant reportedly houses workshops assembling the Kornet anti-tank missile system and the Pantsir-S surface-to-air missile system.

In a message posted on Telegram, the group said reconnaissance was conducted before the operation. Atesh also claimed that the factory has previously been hit by Ukrainian forces and warned that its campaign is intensifying. “Now we are moving to more active actions and destroying the enterprise’s infrastructure, and this is just the beginning,” the statement declared.

The information has not been independently confirmed. Tula lies roughly 329 kilometers from Ukraine’s border and around 174 kilometers south of Moscow, making it one of the deeper strikes claimed by partisans in Russian territory.

Atesh has carried out numerous operations targeting military infrastructure both inside occupied Ukrainian regions and in Russia itself. Just a day earlier, the group said it had conducted reconnaissance of a Russian military headquarters in St. Petersburg.

Agents reported collecting intelligence on unit 31807 at the headquarters of the Sixth Combined Arms Army, which is currently engaged in fighting near Kupiansk. The group said it observed patrol routines, personnel movements, and vehicle activity before passing the information to the Ukrainian Armed Forces for operational use.