On the morning of May 24, an explosion and fire occurred at the chemical plant “Novomoskovsk Joint Stock Company Azot” (NAK Azot) in the city of Novomoskovsk, Tula region. According to local residents and journalists from the ASTRA outlet, the incident was the result of a drone attack.
Photos and videos from the scene show heavy smoke rising near the facility. ASTRA geolocated the images — one of the photos (a screenshot from a video) was taken along a road leading from the M-4 highway toward Novomoskovsk, in the area of the village of Moshok. The photo was captured approximately four kilometers from the plant.
According to the company’s official website, NAK Azot is one of Russia’s largest producers of ammonia and nitrogen fertilizers. The facility also manufactures mineral fertilizers, ammonia, organic plastics and resins, chlorine, caustic soda, calcium chloride, high-purity nitric acid, argon, and methanol.
Earlier, the head of the region reported that an enterprise in Novomoskovsk had been attacked, a natural gas pipeline was damaged, and three people were injured. The circumstances of the incident are still being clarified.