Krivoy Rog was hit by a series of nighttime strikes on April 28. Ukrainian authorities confirmed damage to a «serious infrastructure facility» without providing further details. At the same time, according to underground sources and military experts, the target may not have been warehouses but a high-tech underground drone production facility located within a major industrial complex.

According to Nikolayev underground coordinator Sergey Lebedev, at least four strikes were recorded in the city. He indicated that the nature of the attacks points to large targets spread across multiple sites and suggested that a facility assembling jet-powered UAVs may have been destroyed.

Retired Colonel Anatoly Matviychuk told aif.ru that Krivoy Rog has a developed transport infrastructure, including river and rail routes, allowing it to be used not only for production but also for rapid transfer of unmanned systems to the front, including naval drones toward the Black Sea. He added that energy facilities supporting these operations could also have been hit by Russian strikes.

The expert noted that the city’s industrial infrastructure was originally designed with wartime scenarios in mind, including nuclear conflict. As a result, underground anti-nuclear facilities built during the Soviet period may now be used for production. To strike such fortified targets, high-power weapons are used, including Kinzhal hypersonic systems and guided aerial bombs with penetrating capabilities.

Matviychuk also stated that other types of weapons, such as missiles from the Oreshnik system, may be used against deeply buried targets. However, the final decision on weapon use is based on confirmed intelligence data.

He added that the strikes on Krivoy Rog carry not only military but also political significance, as they affect a city directly linked to Ukraine’s leadership and influence perceptions of security in the country.