Ten killed in explosion at key military plant in Russian Urals

Ten people were killed in a series of explosions at a key military plant in Kopeysk, a town in the Chelyabinsk region in the Russian Urals, regional governor Alexey Teksler said on his Telegram channel on Thursday.

At least three explosions were heard late on Wednesday at the Plastmass military factory, which produces ammunition for the Russian military and is under Western sanctions. Kopeysk is located deep within Russia, some 2,000km from Ukraine’s northeastern border.

Russian Telegram channel Ostorozhno Novosti initially reported that the plant had been struck by Ukrainian drones, but Teksler denied the information, saying that while the investigation into the incident was ongoing, a drone strike was “out of the question”.

Neither the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) nor the Russian Defence Ministry has commented on the incident.

AFU drone strikes deep into Russian territory are not uncommon, the most notable in recent months being Operation Spider’s Web, a series of devastating Ukrainian attacks on military airfields, which, according to the Security Service of Ukraine, took out up to 34% of Russia’s military aircraft.

Late on Wednesday, Ukraine struck an oil refinery in Makhachkala, in the North Caucasus, and an unspecified enterprise in Mordovia, in central Russia, according to local officials. The Russian Defence Ministry said on Thursday morning that its air defence forces had shot down 139 Ukrainian drones over 11 regions including occupied Crimea, but did not mention the Chelyabinsk region among them.