Drones Strike Southern Russia’s Largest Chemical Plant

Ukrainian attack drones struck Nevinnomyssky Azot, the largest chemical plant in southern Russia, overnight on May 20.

Astra Telegram channel reported on this.

The facility is located in the city of Nevinnomyssk in Russia’s Stavropol region. The strike reportedly caused a fire on the plant’s premises.

Photos of the blaze glow, published by eyewitnesses, were taken from Kalinina Street. The filming location is about 4.7 kilometers from the chemical plant.

Local residents reported a nighttime drone attack on Nevinnomyssk’s industrial zone, saying they heard explosions and saw a fire. The city’s mayor also confirmed the attack, urging residents to stay off the streets and take shelter.

This marks at least the seventh attack on Nevinnomyssky Azot since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.

The previous drone strike that caused a fire at the facility took place on the night of May 15–16. Another attack occurred on March 19, when local residents reported four impacts and mentioned a strong, unpleasant odor spread across the city.

Similar strikes also took place in January 2026, as well as in December, July, and August 2025.

Nevinnomyssky Azot is Russia’s largest producer of nitrogen fertilizers and ammonia and is part of the EuroChem group. The plant also manufactures dual-use products.

Its total production capacity exceeds 1 million tons of ammonia and 1.4 million tons of ammonium nitrate per year. Annual urea production reaches 890,000 tons.

According to Reuters, between 2022 and 2024, two EuroChem plants, Nevinnomyssky Azot and Novomoskovsky Azot, shipped at least 38,000 tons of acetic acid and nearly 5,000 tons of nitric acid to the Sverdlov Plant in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region.

These chemicals are used in the production of explosives, including HMX and RDX, which are used in artillery shells.