Key Points and Summary – In what’s being hailed as a “big victory,” Ukraine has conducted a major drone strike on the Nevinnomyssk Azot plant, a key Russian explosives factory.
-The plant is a critical supplier of precursor chemicals for military explosives, and the attack is part of a broader Ukrainian campaign to degrade Russia’s military supply chains deep behind the front lines.
-The massive drone assault, which targeted 10 Russian regions, comes as the latest round of peace talks has failed.
-This successful strike provides a significant morale and strategic boost for Kyiv amid Russia’s intensified bombing campaigns.
Ukraine Hits Russia’s Explosives Factory
Ukraine hasn’t had a lot of significant victories lately, with Russia bombarding Ukraine’s biggest cities in recent weeks.
But they got one on Friday when, per the Kyiv Post, Ukraine struck Russia’s major explosive factory, the Nevinnomyssk Azot plant.
Per the report, it doubled as Ukraine’s most significant drone attack on Russia’s Stavropol region, southeast of Ukraine, since the war began.
However, drones had hit the same facility in mid-June.
Stavropol Governor Vladimir Vladimirov, per Telegram posts cited by the Kyiv Post, “at least 37 drones were shot down over the city of Nevinnomyssk” overnight.
“According to local videos and witness accounts reviewed by independent media outlet ASTRA, the attack’s primary objective was the Nevinnomyssk Azot chemical plant, owned by EuroChem – Russia’s largest fertilizer producer,” Kyiv Post said.
A Widespread Attack
A separate report from the Euromaidan Press stated that Ukrainian drone attacks had struck 10 different Russian oblasts, while also saying that the drones had successfully struck the Nevinnomyssk Azot plant.
It’s not yet clear how successful the new attack was, but Euromaidan Press provided detailed information about the mid-June attack and the damage it caused.
“The chemical plant has been struck for the second time in two months. On 14 June, a 13-drone attack on the Nevinnomyssk Azot facility knocked out doors, windows and premises of one of the workshops. The plant’s cafeteria roof and anti-drone protection were also damaged. Some 800 chemical plant employees waited out the attack in a bomb shelter, with no evacuation conducted. The enterprise had to suspend operations.”
About the Factory
In late 2024, Reuters wrote about Russia’s explosives factories, including the one that was hit on Friday.
“Eurochem is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of mineral fertilizers. Its Nevinnomysskiy Nitrogen plant in southwest Russia has sent at least 38,000 metric tons of acetic acid to Sverdlov during the Ukraine war, according to a Reuters analysis of the railway data,” the December report said.
“A second Eurochem facility, Novomoskovskiy Nitrogen sent nearly 5,000 metric tons of nitric acid to Sverdlov in the same period, the railway data showed.Both acetic acid and nitric acid are used to make HMX and RDX.”
What Ukraine is Thinking
According to the Kyiv Post piece, the attack is “part of a broader campaign by Ukraine to deplete and degrade Russia’s military supply chains.”
“In May, Ukrainian drones struck the Dmitrievsky Chemical Plant in Ivanovo and the Azot plant in the Tula region, both involved in the production of chemicals that can be used in explosives manufacturing,” the report said.
Per the BBC, the drone attacks followed another abbreviated and fruitless negotiating session between Russian and Ukrainian representatives in Istanbul. The sides did agree, once again, to exchange prisoners and the bodies of dead soldiers, although no progress was made when it came to delivering a ceasefire or putting an end to the war.
“We did not expect a breakthrough. A breakthrough is hardly possible,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday, as reported in the BBC story. No further talks appear to be scheduled.
“Drone strikes by both Moscow and Kyiv killed two in Russia and three in Ukraine, hours after a brief third round of ceasefire talks concluded in Istanbul,” the report said.
“Three people were found dead in the rubble of a house after a strike in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region and several people were wounded in the cities of Cherkasy and Zaporizhzhia.
In the Black Sea port city of Odesa, the famous Pryvoz market, as well as a central boulevard which is a UNESCO World heritage site, were also hit.”
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
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