At least seven people died during an explosion at a defense chemical plant in the Moscow region
Russian officials and propagandists claim that the incident was caused not by a Ukrainian drone attack, but by a technical accident.
The plant is part of the Russian state corporation Rostec and, among other things, is engaged in the production of military-grade products.
The enterprise produces cartridges for smoothbore shotguns of 12, 16, 20, and 410 calibers, as well as signal and illuminating devices, aircraft defense means, and anti-terrorist means, which are manufactured according to state orders for Russian security forces. In addition, according to "Ukrainska Pravda", the plant produces thermobaric warheads for "Shahed"-type drones.
The enterprise is located approximately 100 kilometers from Istra, where Russian President Vladimir Putin was speaking at a plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club at that moment.
The first reports of the explosion began to appear after 6:30 PM. Around 8:30 PM, explosions were again heard in the plant area, MSK1.RU reported, citing local residents.
The head of the city of Sergiev Posad, Alexey Luzhetsky, stated that the explosion was not related to a drone attack. TASS, citing operational services, also reported that the cause of the fire was a man-made accident.
According to information from the Telegram channel Shot, the explosion occurred in workshop No. 4, which was completely destroyed. At the time of the incident, 44 people were in the building. 40 of them were evacuated. According to RIA Novosti agency, four more people could remain under the rubble.
In 2025, this plant was attacked twice by Ukrainian drones — in January and July. No casualties were reported as a result of these attacks.
If the information about seven deaths is confirmed, this explosion could become one of the deadliest at enterprises in the Moscow region in recent years. In August 2023, an explosion occurred on the territory of the Zagorsk Optical-Mechanical Plant in Sergiev Posad, as a result of which nine people died and more than 100 were injured.