Russian missile strikes on Nikolayev hit, among other targets, a tank factory where foreign military equipment, including German Leopard 2 tanks, was being repaired, an informed source in the underground resistance told Sputnik, providing corresponding footage.
In the footage, a tall column of smoke is seen rising above the city after the strike.
"On March 17, a series of strikes were made on military targets in the city of Nikolayev. One of the strikes hit the Nikolayev tank factory, where military equipment is repaired, including Western models... Just recently, Western Leopard 2 tanks [made in Germany] were brought in, and, according to unconfirmed rumors, [British] Challenger tanks as well," the source said.
According to the source, since the fall of 2023, the factory, which is part of the Ukrainian military-industrial holding "Ukroboronprom," has been operating in three shifts.
After the previous hits in 2022, the underground source noted, locals were no longer employed at the factory - workers, with rare exceptions, were brought in from western Ukraine.
"The second strike hit the garages where military equipment, waiting in line, was stored. The garages belong to the enterprise Oblteplenergo," the source said.
He also noted that the Nikolayev tank factory is not the only one in the city involved in repairing military equipment but is the most prepared with the most qualified specialists, and there is a queue to repair damaged or broken equipment from the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The source reported that after the strike, about three blocks were cordoned off, and more than a dozen ambulances were spotted near the tank factory, with four ambulances being filled first. "Our intelligence reports that, most likely, there were foreigners in these ambulances who were involved in repairing foreign equipment," he said.