On the night of May 5, Cheboksary came under missile and drone attack. Chuvashia Prime Minister Sergey Artamonov reported the strike on the city, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later confirmed that Flamingo cruise missiles had hit a Russian military-industrial site.
According to Astra and the Telegram channel Exilenova+, the target was the VNIIR-Progress plant, which manufactures Kometa navigation modules for drones and missiles. The outlets said this conclusion was based on analysis of eyewitness footage. Damage to a shopping center and several cars was also reported. The regional Health Ministry said three people had been injured.
In the morning, photos and videos published by Exilenova+, Mash, Baza and other channels appeared to show two drones striking residential high-rise buildings. Astra said the buildings were located at 6 Stroiteley Street and 5 Leninsky Komsomol Street. Regional authorities officially confirmed a drone strike on one of the apartment blocks.
Later, the Investigative Committee’s press service said that the strikes on residential buildings had caused not only injuries but also deaths, without specifying the number. According to Baza and RT, two people were killed and 34 others, including a child, were injured. One of the wounded was said to be in serious condition.
At 4:50 p.m. Moscow time, Chuvashia head Oleg Nikolayev confirmed the reports of two deaths. He said 32 people, including a child, had been injured and that the main damage had fallen on civilian infrastructure.
“Twenty-eight apartment buildings housing 8,500 people were damaged. In two buildings, the load-bearing structures were compromised, making it unsafe to remain there. Places in dormitories have been prepared for residents of those buildings,” Nikolayev said.
Because of the attack, all public transport in the city was temporarily suspended before service resumed. Schools and technical colleges switched to remote learning, and some institutions opened temporary accommodation centers. Shopping malls were closed. Authorities first considered declaring a republic-level emergency, then introduced a regional state of emergency.
The reason drones hit residential buildings remains unclear. Exilenova+ said electronic warfare may have played a role; OSINT analyst Kirill Mikhailov told Agentstvo that this was plausible, pointing to the drones’ low altitude before impact. A representative of Conflict Intelligence Team said a technical malfunction was also possible, noting that one of the apartment buildings stands about 350 meters from the plant.