A Strike by Ukrainian Drones Damages BK-4 Workshop at Togliattikauchuk

As a result of a strike by Ukrainian drones on the night of April 4, the BK-4 workshop at the Russian Togliattikauchuk petrochemical plant was damaged.

OSINT analysts from the CyberBoroshno community reported on this after analyzing available satellite imagery.

This facility was responsible for producing high-purity isobutylene.

“The strike was confirmed by a fire at the facility and water jets from firefighting crews,” the OSINT analysts noted.

The community added that BK-4 is a key link in the production chain of the enterprise’s isobutane-isobutylene units (BK-2, BK-3, BK-4).

They suggest that the strike at the workshop means a halt or a significant reduction in the entire butyl rubber production cycle at Togliattikauchuk, which supplies a quarter of Russia’s synthetic rubber market.

At the same time, OSINT analysts note that there is a high probability that BK-4 was not the only target hit during this strike. However, due to cloud cover in the images, a full analysis is currently difficult.

As a reminder, immediately after the drone strike, fires broke out in several locations on the plant’s premises.

The Togliattikauchuk plant is located in the city of Togliatti in the Samara region. It is one of the region’s largest facilities.

The plant produces four grades of rubber, hydrocarbon fractions, organic synthesis products, and gasoline additives. Synthetic rubbers account for about a quarter of the Russian market.

The evening prior, a drone also struck the finished-goods warehouse of the Russian chemical plant Minudobreniya JSC in the city of Rossosh, Voronezh region.

In the morning, the regional governor reported that the fire had been extinguished and stated that the plant’s production facility had been damaged. The Russian official added that production has been suspended.