In a nighttime operation, drones from Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) hit the Murom Instrument-Making Plant, a critical facility supporting the Russian military, an SBU source told Kyiv Post.
Located in the Vladimir Oblast, the plant produces ammunition ignition equipment and components for the Russian Navy and aviation, essential to Moscow’s ongoing war efforts against Ukraine, the source said.
“Five explosions were reported at the plant,” the source said. “Two buildings were damaged, and a fire broke out.”
Since 2023, the Murom Instrument-Making Plant has been on both Ukraine’s and the European Union’s sanctions lists due to its key role in Russia’s military-industrial complex.
“The SBU continues to target legitimate military installations within the Russian Federation,” the source added.
Locals appeared to confirm the attack on the ASTRA Telegram channel, and surveillance video captured an explosion at 3:11 a.m. local time, Wednesday, April 30.
Earlier, the regional governor reported a fire at warehouses but did not specify the enterprise. Later, he confirmed that the fire resulted from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) strike.
According to a 2020 report by the Russian magazine National Defense, the Murom Instrument-Making Plant, founded in 1941, is one of the main manufacturers of ammunition initiation and ignition devices for the Russian Armed Forces, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, FSB, and other security agencies.
The plant’s director told Russian media in 2020 that Murom is the largest manufacturer of detonator capsules in Russia, UNN reported. It is part of the Tecmash concern, which falls under the Rostech State Corporation.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that 34 Ukrainian aircraft-type drones were intercepted and destroyed overnight across several regions overnight April 29-30. These included three over Vladimir Oblast, 15 over Kursk Oblast, eight over Bryansk Oblast, seven over Orel Oblast, and one over Belgorod Oblast.