Ukraine Strikes Russian Plants in Orel and Omsk as Drones Disrupt Moscow Flights

Ukraine struck Russian industrial sites with missiles and drones while drone incursions disrupted air travel in Moscow. Ukrainian cruise missiles blew up the main production building of the Proton-Electrotex plant in Orel, roughly 100 miles from the Ukrainian border, on Friday, the Kyiv Independent reported. The plant makes semiconductor devices, LEDs and electronic components for equipment used to build Russian weapons. Ukraine's general staff said the strike complicates production of components for cruise and ballistic missiles. Orel regional Gov. Andrei Klychkov said three unidentified people died; they reportedly were not at the plant but died in a fire the attack caused. Ukrainian drones also hit a petrochemical plant and a warehouse in Omsk. On Saturday, 85 flights were canceled and 229 delayed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport. Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said 17 drones were shot down heading for the capital, prompting an evacuation of the IQ-quarter skyscraper that houses several ministries. A Russian drone attack on Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region reportedly killed three civilians, and power was disrupted in Crimea and other occupied areas, with restoration under way.

Left-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while right-leaning and alternative/independent outlets had. The New York Post leads with the Orel plant and the Moscow disruption. It relies on the Kyiv Independent, the Exilenova video, the general staff statement, Klychkov and Sobyanin. It says nothing of Omsk, Dnipropetrovsk or power cuts. Its headline stresses Ukraine blowing up a missile-parts plant and drones grounding flights. The Times of India takes a distinct angle, with a headline on three deaths, the Omsk and Ozon hub strikes, and outages in Crimea and the east. It describes the three deaths as civilians killed by a Russian drone attack in Dnipropetrovsk. The Post attributes three deaths to the Orel attack. The sides agree Ukraine struck Russian targets, but they differ on location, emphasis and where the deaths occurred.