Russia economy meltdown as country ‘losing £487k’ per day after Ukraine’s strikes | World | News
Russia is losing up to £487,300 a day after a major military-industrial plant was struck by Ukrainian drones, according to a top economist. Ukraine‘s army has been targeting Russian energy infrastructure, as well as military and industrial sites, in relentless aerial bombardments.
The aim is to cause as much disruption as possible to Vladimir Putin‘s brutal war machine. Last week, Ukraine launched hundreds of drones and missiles at targets all across Russia, inflicting major damage to several ammunition warehouses in the Krasnodar region. And overnight on Saturday, drones headed towards the Russian town of Yelets in the Lipetsk region, where they hit the partially state-owned Energiya plant.
The industrial site supplies batteries for drones, warships, and missiles like Iskander and Kinzhal.
A number of huge explosions were seen at the plant, which was engulfed by a raging fire soon afterwards.
Images captured by members of the public show giant flames leaping into the night’s sky, as emergency services raced to the scene.
The factory has been forced to halt production in the wake of the attack, and as a result is haemorrhaging money.
Kyrylo Shevchenko, a former head of Ukraine‘s National Bank, wrote in a post to his X social media page: “Roughly $200,000–660,000 per day — that’s what Russia is estimated to be losing after Ukrainian strikes forced the shutdown of one of its key military factories.
“The Energiya plant supplies batteries for drones, warships, and missiles like Iskander and Kinzhal — the weapons used to bomb Ukrainian cities. In 2024, the plant received a $12M investment to nearly double output. Now? It’s paying the price.”
The company has been accused of producing “chemical power supplies for the universal planning and correction modules (UPCM) of Russian aircraft bombs” by War & Sanctions, the official database from the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine.
Last week, Ukrainian drones also targeted a major military-industrial enterprise in Tula.
A workshop belonging to Rostec’s NPO Splav was struck, causing a major fire to break out at the plant.
The industrial site is a major manufacturer of Russian arms, making multiple rocket launchers, aircraft missiles, heavy flamethrowers and ammunition.
Three days before the attack, Putin had awarded four employees of the plant the Marshal Zhukov Prize – in recognition of their contributions to Russian armaments manufacturing.
