A large-scale Ukrainian drone attack targeted multiple Russian regions overnight, igniting fires at a major chemical plant in Tolyatti and reportedly striking an ammunition depot near occupied Mariupol.
Ukrainian drones launched a massive attack on Russia’s Samara region early Wednesday, March 11, regional governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said.
“There were no deaths or injuries,” he said, without specifying the consequences of the raid.
According to an analysis of photos taken by locals and published by the Telegram channel Astra, the KuibyshevAzot chemical plant in Tolyatti was hit.
After the drones arrived, a fire broke out at the plant. The Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova+ claims that the workshop #11 at the facility caught fire.
KuibyshevAzot is one of the leading Russian chemical companies and one of the ten largest enterprises in the country’s nitrogen industry.
The plant specializes in the production of chemicals such as caprolactam, polyamide-6, technical thread, ammonium nitrate, urea, ammonium sulfate, ammonia, and weak nitric acid.
According to Russian media, in February, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) attacked chemical plants on Russian territory three times.
On Feb. 7, the largest chemical plant in the Tver region, the Redkinsky Experimental Plant, was hit. After the strike on its territory, a large-scale fire broke out.
On Feb. 17, drones hit the Metafrax Chemicals plant in Perm Krai. As a result, a fire also broke out. On Feb. 25, the Dorogobuzh plant in the Smolensk region was attacked.
In addition to Tolyatti, Ukrainian drones also attacked Samara and Syzran, where, according to the Telegram channel Shot, at least 10 explosions were heard.
A fire broke out in one of the districts of Syzran, although it is not yet known which facility caught fire. Drones also attacked Taganrog and at least five districts of the Rostov region. Local authorities reported damage to a power line.
In addition, explosions were heard in Sochi and Anapa in neighboring Krasnodar Krai.
Drones also made attacks in occupied Mariupol early Wednesday morning. According to monitoring Telegram channels, an ammunition depot near the city was struck, after which detonations began.
“The fire signature is recorded in the vicinity of Mariupol, not far from the airport, where an ammunition depot was hit. Before the Russians arrived, there was a farm there,” Exilenova+ wrote.
Moreover, the Telegram channel Crimean Wind reported that in occupied Sevastopol, in the area of Cape Fiolent, an important radar station – part of the peninsula’s air-defense network – was hit.
According to the report, three explosions were heard in the area of Cape Fiolent on Wednesday morning. Drones were also heard flying overhead, and Russian air defense attempted to shoot them down using the Pantsir air defense system and small arms.
Later, a fire broke out at the radar station. The radar dome has reportedly burned down completely, leaving only part of its frame, Crimean Wind wrote.
The radar is believed to be part of the 31st Air Defense Division of the Anti-Aircraft Missile Forces of the Russian Aerospace Forces, which operates systems including the S-400 surface-to-air missile system, the Pantsir system, detection radars, and target-guidance radars.
According to a report by the Russian Defense Ministry, 185 Ukrainian aircraft-type drones were “intercepted and destroyed” by regular air defense systems overnight.
In particular, drones were reportedly shot down over Astrakhan, Belgorod, Bryansk, Volgograd, Voronezh, Kursk, Rostov, Samara and Saratov regions, as well as over Krasnodar Krai, occupied Crimea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
Ukraine has not commented on the attacks yet.
Ukrainian forces struck a major Russian microelectronics factory in Bryansk with Storm Shadow cruise missile air-launched missiles on the evening of March 10, damaging a facility that produces key components for Russia’s missile systems.
Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed the strike on the Kremniy El Group plant, describing it as a critically important link in the chain of production of Russian ‘high-precision’ weapons.
The factory manufactures semiconductors and integrated microchips used as the “brains” and “nervous system” of modern weapons, including components for the Iskander missile system.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, citing Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky, said the operation targeted a facility producing control systems for Russian missiles.
The General Staff said the target was successfully struck and that “significant damage” to production facilities had been recorded, though the full extent of the damage is still being assessed.
Founded in 1958, Kremniy El is one of Russia’s largest microelectronics producers, manufacturing more than 1,200 types of electronic components used in systems such as the Pantsir air defense system, Topol-M missile system, Bulava missile, as well as the S-300 air defense system and S-400 air defense system. The plant has previously been targeted by Ukrainian drone strikes in recent years.