Ukraine Drone Strike Targets Russia’s Only Helium Facility

On August 11, unmanned aerial vehicles of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine attacked the Orenburg Helium Plant.

The information was confirmed by an intelligence source to Militarnyi.

It is the only helium production facility in Russia and one of the largest in Europe. The plant is located in the city of Orenburg.

Helium is a critical component in the production of rockets, space technology, and the aviation industry.

Local residents were able to observe drone flights and reported a series of explosions in the vicinity of this key Russian facility on social media.

It is noted that the plant was directly involved in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and was one of the vital sites in Russia’s military-industrial complex.

On the evening of August 11, local authorities closed a section of the M-5 Ural federal highway near the settlements of Perevolotskoye and Kholodnye Klyuchi, the latter of which hosts the plant.

The night before, authorities in the Orenburg region reported that two drones had allegedly been shot down following the introduction of a UAV threat alert in the region.

There was no official information regarding any impacts or drone debris falling to the ground.

The Orenburg Helium Plant is owned by Gazprom Pererabotka, OOO, a subsidiary of Gazprom. Its annual processing capacity is around 15 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

In the early hours of the night, strike drones targeted the Monocrystal plant in Stavropol, Russia, igniting a fire.

The plant specializes in the production of synthetic sapphire and is a key supplier of optoelectronic components for Russia’s military-industrial sector.