Energia Hit Again: Drone Strike Halts Key Russian Weapons Plant’s Production, Flights Grounded
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Energia Hit Again: Drone Strike Halts Key Russian Weapons Plant’s Production, Flights Grounded
A Ukrainian drone attack struck Russia’s Lipetsk region early Thursday, July 3, with explosions reported in the regional capital and the city of Yelets. Eyewitnesses said drones were flying toward the Lipetsk-2 airfield and the Energia plant, which appeared to be hit. The plant produces lithium-ion and mercury-zinc batteries used in missiles, drones, aircraft, naval vessels, and electronic warfare systems. Due to its role in the war against Ukraine, the plant is under sanctions by the EU, US, Japan, and others. The region had also declared an overnight air alert, citing drones coming from the Voronezh region and heading toward Tambov and Kotovsk.
Local Telegram channel ASTRA, citing eyewitnesses, said drones were flying toward the Lipetsk-2 airfield and the Energia plant, which appeared to be hit.
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Photos circulated online show shattered windows and visible damage to the building.
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The regional governor, Igor Artamonov, confirmed that a fire broke out in the parking lot of an enterprise in Yelets following the attack.
Energia produces lithium-ion and mercury-zinc batteries used in missiles, drones, aircraft, naval vessels, and electronic warfare systems. Its power systems support communications, command centers, tank and missile simulators, and weapons like the Iskander and Kinzhal missiles.
The facility also manufactures electrochemical capacitors and autonomous light-optical power sources.
Kommersant previously reported that Energia had doubled its output to meet growing demand from Russia’s military and planned further expansion in 2025. Due to its role in the war against Ukraine, the plant is under sanctions by the EU, US, Japan, and others.
Other Topics of Interest Russian Drone Strike Ignites Odesa High-Rise: Six Injured, Dozens Evacuated A Shahed drone strike set a 9-story residential building ablaze in Odesa early Thursday, injuring at least 6 people, including 2 children, and prompting mass evacuations.
There has been no official confirmation of the strike from Ukraine’s General Staff yet.
Russian officials raised the air alert level in Lipetsk from “yellow” to “red” due to the threat of UAV attacks at 1:29 a.m. Soon after which, explosions rocked the region, with Russian social media reporting air defenses engaging incoming drones.
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The Telegram channel Exilenova+ said drones were seen heading towards the Lipetsk-2 airfield. Eyewitnesses reported hearing up to 15 blasts in the European and Izmailovsky districts.
During the attack, debris from a downed drone hit a private home in the Lipetsk district. A 70-year-old woman was killed, and two others injured. Governor Artamonov said the victims were receiving medical care but are not in a life-threatening condition.
Meanwhile, flights were suspended at Tambov airport due to the drone threat, according to Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency. The region had also declared an overnight air alert, citing drones coming from the Voronezh region and heading toward Tambov and Kotovsk.
This is not the first time the Energia facility has come under attack. On May 23, drones previously struck the plant, and Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed the hit.
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At the time, Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation said the strike forced the plant to suspend operations.
The Ukrainian Refugees Boosting Poland’s Economy
There are approximately 1.5 million Ukrainians living in Poland, a million of whom are considered refugees and are mostly women and children. Poland opened its borders to millions of refugees and offered them various benefits. Most of these benefits are no longer in force, and Ukrainians have the same rights and obligations as Poles. Polish nationalist and far-right politicians accuse Ukrainians of “taking advantage of Poland’s growing economy. A Russian drone strike set a 9-story residential building ablaze in Odesa early Thursday, injuring at least 6 people, including 2 children, and prompting mass evacuations. It is the latest in a series of attacks on Russian targets in Ukraine and elsewhere in the region, including attacks in Lviv and Dnipropetrovsk, as well as the shelling of Mariupol in the east of the country and Lviv in the west. The attacks have been blamed on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces, who are believed to be behind the attack on the residential building. The U.S. State Department says it is investigating the attack.
The 33-year-old is devoted to his work, and wants to stay in Poland, which benefits economically from refugees but where anti-migrant sentiment is rising.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
“It’s impossible not to work in Poland, and Ukrainians are people that can’t just sit idle,” said Belyba, who spent 13 months on the frontline fighting off the Russian invasion, and arrived in Poland half a year ago to work in a repair shop owned by a childhood friend from Dnipro.
Ukrainian Oleksandr Belyba, 33-year-old car mechanic works in a repair shop run by his childhood friend from Ukraine, Warsaw June 24, 2025 / AFP
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After the beginning of the war in 2022, Poland opened its borders to millions of refugees and offered them various benefits.
Today, most of these benefits are no longer in force, and Ukrainians have the same rights and obligations as Poles.
Ukrainian workers and students get access to free healthcare and education.
There are approximately 1.5 million Ukrainians living in Poland, a million of whom are considered refugees and are mostly women and children.
Their presence is highly beneficial to Poland’s growing economy, according to a recently published report.
Other Topics of Interest Russian Drone Strike Ignites Odesa High-Rise: Six Injured, Dozens Evacuated A Shahed drone strike set a 9-story residential building ablaze in Odesa early Thursday, injuring at least 6 people, including 2 children, and prompting mass evacuations.
Last year, Ukrainian refugees “generated 2.7 percent of Poland’s gross domestic product (GDP)”, said the report by Deloitte and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
This gain would be “lost” if refugees were to disappear, the report said.
Furthermore, refugees “increase the labour supply as both workers and entrepreneurs and expand demand as consumers”, Deloitte indicated, underlining that 69 percent of Ukrainian refugees in Poland work.
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– ‘Poles first’ –
The report goes against numerous statements made by Polish nationalist and far-right politicians, who accuse Ukrainians of “taking advantage of Poland”.
During the recent electoral campaign, the nationalist president-elect Karol Nawrocki had a slogan: “Poland first, Poles first”.
He called for social benefits to go “above all to Poles” and said they should even “have priority” in queues at the doctor’s office.
Far-right leader Slawomir Mentzen accused the Ukrainians of treating Poles like “suckers”, who are being duped into contributing to their presence in Poland.
However, welfare benefits “are not enough to live comfortably in Poland”, Oleh Yarovyi, owner of the Dobro Dobro coffee chain in Warsaw, where 95 percent of employees are Ukrainian, told AFP.
“Life in Poland isn’t very cheap, and to live normally, refugees often need extra work,” he said.
Olesia Hryhorash, a dry-cleaning service employee in a shopping mall, agreed.
“All my friends are working, some even work two jobs,” said the 25-year-old, who arrived in Poland on holiday just before the Russian invasion.
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According to the UNHCR report, Ukrainians in Poland work primarily in lower-income positions, and their arrival did not result in a surge in the unemployment rate, which remains at around five percent.
“The economy has benefited from a larger pool of talent, enabling deeper specialization and increased productivity growth,” it said.
Olesia Hryhorash, a tailor working in a dry-cleaning service in a shopping mall in Warsaw, works at her sewing machine, June 26, 2025 / AFP
– ‘Didn’t take money from Poland’ –
“I didn’t take any money from Poland. Everything I have here I earn with my own hands,” said Vitalii Vizinskyi, 47, a construction company owner from western Ukraine.
“And of course, I pay taxes here,” he said.
Behind him, his workers — Ukrainians, Belarusians and Poles — were busy laying paving stones in the garden of a Warsaw embassy.
Vitalii Vizinskyi (R), a Ukrainian construction company owner, oversees his employees work on laying paving stones in the garden of a Warsaw embassy, June 24, 2025 / AFP
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Poland has “simplified the registration of Ukrainian businesses, access to education and employment,” said Kateryna Glazkova, executive director of the Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs, who lives between Kyiv and Warsaw, where her family has settled.
The Polish Economic Institute estimates that Ukrainians set up nearly one in 10 micro-businesses in Poland, mainly in construction and services.
A report by the Polish state bank BGK found that tax and social security contributions from Ukrainian migrants totalled around 15.1 billion zlotys (3.5 billion euros), while child allowances amounted to around 2.8 billion zlotys.
“Because of taxes and contributions to the Polish budget, Ukrainians have returned much more than they received in aid,” Glazkova said.