Three more people were reportedly killed in an explosion at a state-run weapons production facility in Russia.
The explosion occurred on Monday while a repair team was dismantling an oil pipeline at a workshop at the Avangard site in the city of Sterlitamak, Bashkortostan, about 900 miles east of Moscow, Russian media outlet RBC reported.
The plant is owned by the state-owned Rostec and produces parts for rocket launch systems. The company has been sanctioned by the European Union, Switzerland and Ukraine.
The company said the cause of the incident is being established. Russia’s investigative committee said staff may have violated safety rules by cutting the pipes.
The committee said in a statement that a criminal case had been opened for “violation of the commercial protection needs of hazardous production facilities, resulting in the deaths of two or more people due to negligence. “Newsweek has reached out to Rostec and the Investigative Committee for comment.
While there is no evidence of an external cause for the explosion, the incident is the latest at a Russian military facility in months.
The Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said on Monday that at least one Russian fighter jet and an ammunition depot were destroyed in an attack on the Morozovsk air base in the Rostov region on Saturday.
The GUR said satellite photographs showed one Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bomber destroyed and two others likely destroyed in the attack.
In April, Ukraine attacked the same airfield in a drone strike that destroyed at least six Russian military aircraft.
Last month, a fire broke out at the Uraltransmash military plant in Yekaterinburg, Russia, which produces self-propelled artillery howitzers such as the Msta-S and the Tulip. The fire broke out after at least three explosions, after which thick smoke rose into the air.
Often, without claiming responsibility, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russian territory in opposition to targets linked to Moscow’s full-scale invasion.
In April, a Ukrainian drone attacked Russia’s third-largest oil refinery in Tatarstan, according to Kiev’s intelligence services. Also in April and in the same region, Ukrainian drones attacked the Gorbunov aircraft plant, which manufactures missile carriers and aircraft such as the Tu-22M3 and Tu-160M bombers.
Meanwhile, Russian strikes targeted at least 11 Ukrainian regions overnight Monday, killing at least 3 more people and wounding at least 19, according to local authorities.
The Ukraine Air Force said Russia introduced 16 Shahed-type drones from Cape Chauda in occupied Crimea and from the Russian city of Kursk.
Russia introduced four Iskander M/KN-23 ballistic missiles from the Voronezh Oblast and two Kh-59 guided missiles from the Sea of Azov, Ukraine said.
Brendan Cole is a senior journalist at Newsweek, founded in London, United Kingdom. It focuses on Russia and Ukraine, i. e. the war through Moscow. It also covers other areas of geopolitics, adding China.
Brendan joined Newsweek in 2018 from the International Business Times and, in addition to English, studies Russian and French.
You can contact Brendan by emailing b. cole@newsweek. com or by following him on his X @brendanmarkcole account.
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