Ukrainian drones struck multiple targets across Russia overnight on July 31, including an industrial facility in the western Russian city of Penza and energy infrastructure in Volgograd Oblast, according to Russian officials and media.
The strikes come amid Ukraine’s intensified campaign targeting Russian military, industrial, and logistical infrastructure deep inside Russia.
One of the main targets was a radio factory in the western city of Penza, which produces advanced communications systems for the Russian Armed Forces, according to Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation.
The facility specializes in mobile command units, automated combat control systems, and military-grade radio stations, he added.
“It is a key enterprise of the Russian military-industrial complex,” Kovalenko said.
Without disclosing the nature of the facility, Penza Oblast Governor Oleg Melnichenko confirmed the attack, saying that a fire had occurred at an industrial plant.
“There is a fire at the plant, which is being extinguished,” he said.
Two pro-government Russian Telegram channels, Shot and Baza, posted footage of the fire and reported widespread mobile service disruptions.
Melnichenko later acknowledged the outages, attributing them to “safety reasons,” and said mobile internet restrictions were temporarily in place across the city.
Penza lies roughly 625 kilometers (388 miles) southeast of Moscow and about 600 kilometers (373 miles) from the nearest Ukraine-controlled territory.
Farther south, in Volgograd Oblast, regional officials confirmed that drones targeted transportation and energy infrastructure in Kotelnikovo and nearby districts.
Governor Andrei Bocharov said gas supplies to 65 homes were cut off, and train traffic was restricted near the Tinguta station in the Svitloyarsky district due to drone debris.
“A massive drone attack on transportation and energy facilities in the Volgograd Oblast has been repelled,” he said. “To remove drone debris found on the railway tracks near Tinguta station in the Svetloyarsky district, train traffic has been temporarily restricted.”
A video published by independent Russian outlet Astra shows a large fire burning at the site of the strike in Kotelnikovo. The Russian Telegram channel Shot reported that residents in the suburbs of Volgograd heard up to five explosions.
A large fire is burning at the site of the strike in Kotelnikovo, Russia’s Volgograd Oblast, on July 31, 2025. (Astra / Telegram)
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that air defenses shot down 31 Ukrainian drones over six regions, including 11 over Volgograd Oblast.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify all the claims.
Kyiv has increasingly relied on long-range drones to disrupt Moscow’s war effort and force resource redeployments far from the front lines.
The same night, Russia launched a mass aerial strike against Kyiv, collapsing a residential building while killing at least six people and injuring dozens more.
Russian drone, missile barrage on Kyiv leaves 6 killed, including child, 52 wounded, more people trapped under rubble
The overnight attack comes shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose new tariffs on Russia within 10 days unless the Kremlin agrees to halt its full-scale war against Ukraine.
