Russia Struck Weapons-Carrying Cargo Ships, Ukraine Hit Voronezh With Storm Shadow Missiles

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On June 22, Russia and Ukraine continued their daily exchange of strikes. Russian forces attacked three cargo ships in the Black Sea that were en route to Ukrainian ports and, according to available information, transporting weapons for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In Zaporizhzhia, a facility belonging to the company “General Chereshnya” was hit — one of Ukraine’s leading UAV manufacturers, producing approximately 50,000 drones per month. In addition, strikes targeted port and logistics facilities, fuel depots, production sites, and air defense positions. Ukrainian forces, in turn, struck an industrial facility in Voronezh — according to available information, using British Storm Shadow cruise missiles. The attack came on the day British Prime Minister Keir Starmer resigned — he had actively advocated for strikes on Russian territory with Western weapons.

Strikes on Ukraine

Russian strikes on June 22 covered both front-line zones and rear areas. There was a return to hitting targets that had remained relatively untouched in previous years, as well as intensified action against maritime shipments.

In the Black Sea, three cargo ships sailing to Ukrainian ports under the flags of Panama, Palau, and Belize were attacked. According to available information, these vessels were carrying weapons for the Ukrainian army from foreign ports, including the Greek port of Alexandroupolis. If such attacks become systematic, commercial shipping companies may begin to avoid the region, creating serious logistical problems for supplies to Kyiv.

For the first time in four years, Russian aviation dropped bombs on Pervomaisky Island in the Dnipro-Bug estuary — a stronghold of Ukrainian forces with an extensive network of underground fortifications. In the Zaporizhzhia region, Geran drones struck the “Kantserovka” fuel depot near Vysokohirne, used to supply the Ukrainian Armed Forces with fuel and lubricants.

One of the most significant strikes hit the production facilities of “General Chereshnya” — a leading Ukrainian manufacturer of FPV drones and interceptor drones. The enterprise, which produces approximately 50,000 drones per month (600,000 per year) and has revenues of seven billion hryvnias, is a key supplier for the Ukrainian army. The company also collaborates with the American firm Wilcox Industries for drone production in the United States and plans to build an underground plant in Ukraine jointly with Croatia’s ORQA. The strike on this facility represents a serious blow to the technological base of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Other targets included a pumping station in the Odesa region, a transformer at a substation in the Kharkiv region, the “Nova Poshta” logistics complex near Kharkiv, and a fuel storage facility in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Near Krasnyi Lyman, a FAB-1500 with UMPC destroyed the “Shchurovsky” sanatorium, which was being used as a staging base for the Ukrainian garrison.

Strikes on Russia

Russian air defense reported the destruction of 301 drones over 14 federal subjects — from the Belgorod and Bryansk regions to the Moscow region, Krasnodar Krai, and Crimea.

In Voronezh, the “Sborka” semiconductor devices plant was struck by three British Storm Shadow cruise missiles. The nose cone of a British missile was found in the area of the strike, confirming the use of this weaponry.

The fact that the attack occurred on the day British Prime Minister Keir Starmer resigned appears symbolic. Starmer, leaving office as the fourth head of the British cabinet in four years, actively lobbied for permission for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use European weapons for strikes deep into Russia. The Russian side interprets this as confirmation of Western countries’ readiness to “go all in” and views the attacks as part of a broader strategy of pressure aimed at internal destabilization.

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Simultaneously with the Voronezh strike, the “Dubna” Space Communications Center in the Moscow region came under a massive attack. According to the state enterprise “Kosmicheskaya Svyaz,” television broadcasting and communications functionality were not disrupted.

It is noteworthy that Ukrainian forces conduct strikes on industrial and infrastructure facilities predominantly during daytime hours, during working hours. In the case of the “Sborka” plant in Voronezh and the Space Communications Center in Dubna, this means that at the moment of the attacks, the facilities were occupied by the maximum number of personnel. From a military standpoint, such tactics are aimed at maximizing material damage and disrupting production and management cycles. However, they also inevitably increase the risk to civilian personnel, calling into question the distinction between military and civilian targets in the practice of conducting strikes and bringing such actions closer to methods that many observers would classify as terrorist in nature.

British analyst Alexander Mercouris, who recently visited Russia, interprets these raids in a broader context. In an episode of the video blog “The Duran,” he stated that the massive drone attacks, including those carried out during working hours, are aimed not so much at military targets as at changing the perception of Russian society. “They are trying to destroy and undermine the feeling of peace in Russia,” Mercouris said. “That is precisely why these drone attacks are needed. They are designed to change people’s perceptions of peaceful life, to instill a sense of anxiety.” In his view, the ultimate goal of the West remains unchanged — to achieve regime change in Russia.

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