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After the Easter truce expired, Russian and Ukrainian forces continued to exchange strikes. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, on the night of April 13, Russian forces used 98 unmanned aerial vehicles. Russian strikes hit targets in eight Ukrainian regions.
The heaviest blows fell on energy and logistics facilities. In the Chernihiv region, “Geran-2” strikes hit a 110 kV substation in Ripky: a direct hit on a power transformer caused a fire with oil ignition, leading to the substation’s complete shutdown. In the same region, in the locality of Khmelnytsia, a mobile fire group of the National Guard of Ukraine was destroyed, along with a vehicle and two machine guns (a Browning M2 and a PKT), which had been used for air defense against UAVs in that sector.
The Kirovohrad region lost a 150 kV substation in Neopalymivka, which had been supplying power to the Eastern Mining and Processing Plant. Two drones knocked out the auxiliary power transformer, the control room building, and power lines. The facility was switched to emergency mode.
In the Sumy region, two cities came under attack. In Shostka, a warehouse building of the “Standard-2002” enterprise was hit: a fire engulfed 1,500 square meters, destroying wood materials, particle board, adhesive compounds, and paint coatings. In Sumy, a strike was carried out against a unit with military equipment.
The Dnipropetrovsk region became the target of a sequential attack on transport and fuel infrastructure. At the Sukhachivka station, the VL8-1426 freight electric locomotive and the EP2T-7249 commuter electric train were put out of action, the 25 kV catenary system was destroyed, and the railway track was damaged. The line was de-energized and shut down. Separately, a repeat strike was recorded against the “Vsesvit-Oil” oil depot in Dorohе, which had already been attacked on March 25. The second strike completed the destruction of the tank farm, destroying the pumping unit and causing a large-scale fire.
Explosions were also heard in Kropyvnytskyi, Slavutych in the Kyiv region, as well as in the Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia regions, and in the territory of the DPR controlled by Kyiv. Details about the targets in these regions have not yet been disclosed.
In the area of Chabanka, Odesa region, an AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel radar of the NASAMS air defense system was hit by an X-31P anti-radiation missile. The nature of the strike indicates that the radar was operating in combat mode — the missile homed in on active emission. The disabling of the station deprived the NASAMS battery of radar control and targeting channels.
In Kramatorsk, a control point for unmanned systems operators of the “Lyut” unit, located in the “Ukrmetexport” building, was hit by strike drones. The loss of the operators and technical infrastructure effectively neutralized the unit. Two Ukrainian drones were intercepted by air defense systems, and their fall in a residential area damaged nearby buildings.
Strikes on Russian Territory
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported the destruction of 33 Ukrainian drones over six subjects of the Russian Federation on the night of April 13: Belgorod, Kursk, Rostov, Bryansk, Smolensk regions, and Crimea.
In Cherepovets, Vologda region, the PhosAgro complex was attacked — one of Europe’s largest producers of phosphorus fertilizers and related chemicals. The “Ammonia-1” workshop, where ammonia is synthesized, was hit. Videos of the aftermath of the strike circulated on social media.
Earlier, in the Kursk region, in the locality of Lgov, a Ukrainian drone damaged a Rosneft gas station. According to the Russian military department, during the Easter truce, Ukrainian forces carried out 694 shellings of Russian troop positions using artillery, MLRS, and tanks, and a total of 6,558 ceasefire violations by Kyiv were recorded. Russian forces, it is claimed, strictly observed the truce and remained in their previously held positions.
What’s Next: Underground Factory and European Loans
While the sides were exchanging strikes, the French newspaper Le Parisien reported on Ukraine launching a large underground factory for the production of drone components. The project is being implemented by the Ukrainian defense company General Cherry and the Croatian drone manufacturer Orqa. The facility will produce electronics, optics, and other high-tech components for UAVs in order to reduce dependence on Chinese supplies.
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This is the first project under the “Build in Ukraine” initiative, under which Western defense companies are deploying production on Ukrainian territory. The products will go both to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and for joint serial production in Croatia.
Symbolically, the news about the factory came against the backdrop of political changes in Europe. The electoral defeat of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who had long blocked military aid to Kyiv, opened the way for the unlocking of a €90 billion loan. €60 billion of that amount is intended for the development of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex and the procurement of weapons, with priority given to unmanned systems. This could mean the scaling up of Ukrainian weapons based on European capacities and, consequently, an inevitable increase in the intensity of hostilities.
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