Ukrainian Strike Puts Russian Shchekinoazot Chemical Plant Out of Action

On the night of July 17, the territory of the Shchekinoazot United Chemical Company was attacked in the village of Pervomaisky, Tula Region, Russia.

This plant produces not only industrial chemicals, but also substances used in the military industry.

Local residents reported hitting a methanol barrel and damaging workshops.

A fire broke out at the site of the strike, which was captured on video by Russian users.

“Preliminary, the attack on Shchekinoazot has been confirmed,” the Exilenova+ Telegram channel reported, publishing a screenshot of a post from a Russian social media accounts.

According to Russian propagandists, the Russian Defense Ministry’s air defense units “destroyed three drones” during the attack.

They also claimed that UAV debris had allegedly fallen on the territory of an enterprise and in a number of localities. There was no mention of a fire in the official reports.

According to preliminary data, a new ammonia and urea production complex with a capacity of 525,000 and 700,000 tons per year, respectively, is under construction at Shchekinoazot. It was planned to be commissioned in early 2025.

Methanol is used in the defense industry to produce rocket fuel and fuel additives for aircraft, UAVs and mobile generators; to power fuel cells that supply portable radios, reconnaissance equipment and other military electronics; and to synthesize and process explosives (including chemical reagents, solvents and components in the production of hexogen, octogen and plastic explosives).

The products of the plant in the Tula region also include ammonia and ammonia water, formalin and urea-formaldehyde concentrate, cyclohexane, cyclohexanone and caprolactam, sulfuric acid, ammonium sulfate, carbon dioxide and dry ice.

According to ASTRA, at least four drones hit the plant’s workshops. One of the distillation columns caught fire on the spot, causing it to depressurize and spread flames. Critical facilities were damaged, including a high-pressure steam pipeline that supplies superheated steam from the CHP plant to the process units and the roof of a furnace on the methanol production line.

The plant’s operations have been completely shut down, and employees have been urgently evacuated. Despite the obvious consequences of the attack, Russian officials are trying to downplay the incident. The governor of the Tula region only acknowledged that “UAV debris fell” on the territory of one of the enterprises, without specifying its name.