On the night of 17 July, explosions were heard at the Shchekinoazot chemical plant in the village of Pervomaisky, Tula region, Russian Federation.
Local residents reported that drones had hit a methanol tank and damaged production facilities. After the strike, a fire broke out, which was captured on video by eyewitnesses.
Despite statements by the Russian Ministry of Defence about the ‘destruction of three UAVs,’ according to ASTRA, at least four drones hit the plant’s facilities directly. One of the rectification columns caught fire, causing depressurisation, and the roof of the furnace and the high-pressure steam pipe that supplies steam from the thermal power plant to the technical installations burned. The plant has currently suspended operations.
Shchekinoazot is one of the key methanol producers in Russia. This substance is used in the military sphere — for the production of rocket fuel, fuel additives for aviation and UAVs, as well as in the production of explosives.
Currently, official Russian sources are downplaying the scale of the attack. The governor of the Tula region acknowledged only ‘debris falling’ on the territory of ‘one of the enterprises.’