Partisans sabotage Russian factory making missile, air defense components

The group stated that one of its operatives had spent months studying the facility, meticulously planning the operation and searching for security vulnerabilities.

The operative managed to bypass security, sneak into the substation, and destroy the main electrical distribution panel supplying the plant before safely escaping the city.

As a primary manufacturer of military electronics, the VZPP-Sborka facility produces critical components like integrated circuits, power switches, and power supplies for the onboard navigation computers of Kh-101 missiles. The plant also manufactures automation control units for the Iskander-K system and semiconductors used in Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft radar and fire-control systems.

The attack triggered a severe voltage surge that knocked out power across the factory's production floors. According to Atesh, it took weeks to fully restore power, forcing the plant to miss critical delivery deadlines and directly delaying the manufacture of missiles and air defense systems.

The sabotage follows a similar operation where Atesh agents destroyed a communications tower near the Russian city of Perm shortly before Ukrainian forces struck the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez oil refinery on August 21.

The group also claimed responsibility for sabotage attacks on June 12 targeting communications infrastructure in Russia's Belgorod Oblast, where operatives damaged equipment critical to military communications and air defense networks.