A powerful explosion was reported in Russia's Udmurt Republic at a weapons plant that produces nuclear weapons components and ballistic missiles, local media reported on Wednesday.
Residents shared videos of the blast that is reported on social media platform Telegram to have occurred on the grounds of the Votkinsk weapons factory. The factory is located some 30 miles from the capital of the Udmurt Republic, Izhevsk.
The weapons factory produces nuclear weapons components and ballistic missiles, including the RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), and strategic ballistic missiles for the Topol-M and Iskander systems, the Kyiv Post reported.
The incident was reported by Russian state-run news agency Tass, which said a local emergency services agency announced that the blast was caused by "a scheduled test of rocket engines," calling it "a planned event, not an emergency."
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) noted that there was no mention of a scheduled test on the website of Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations, where such notices are typically posted.
According to independent Russian news outlet Mediazona, at about 11 p.m. local time, the official Telegram channel of the Ministry of Emergency Situations for Russia's Udmurtia Republic wrote: "The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia does not confirm a powerful explosion on the territory of the Votkinsk plant near Izhevsk."
The publication reported that this message was deleted a few minutes later. A half-hour later, the ministry published another post, which said: "No emergency or abnormal situations have been registered on the territory of the Udmurt Republic, no socially significant incidents have occurred."
After the blast, a massive fire broke out at the plant. It's unclear if there were any casualties.
Newsweek has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment by email.
Weapons produced by the factory have been used by Russia's military in President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The facility published, at the end of 2023, 19 government contracts for the production of nuclear weapons components, RFE/RL reported, noting that when Putin visited the plant in 2011, he described it as "one of the leading enterprises in Russia's defense industry."
Attacks on Russian soil have increased in intensity throughout the war, which is approaching the two-year mark. Ukraine typically does not claim responsibility for, or comment on, incidents that occur on Russian territory.
Data from Molfar, an open-source intelligence agency, found that a record number of industrial fires engulfed Russia in the past year.
There were 939 fires in Russia in 2023, compared to 416 in 2022, meaning that the number of blazes in the country increased by 125.7 percent last year compared to the previous year.
A map created for Newsweek by Molfar shows that from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2023, the largest number of fires occurred in the region of Moscow (156), with other notable regions including Leningrad (78), Sverdlovsk (53), Rostov (44), and Nizhny Novgorod (37).
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Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more
