Explosions were heard in Russia’s Perm for the second day in a row.
Following a drone strike on the morning of Thursday, April 30, authorities declared an accident involving the release of a hazardous substance.
According to videos published by the Russian outlet Astra, a warning was broadcast over loudspeakers throughout the city: “There has been an accident involving the release of a hazardous substance.” An air alert was simultaneously declared across the Perm region.
Videos shared by residents show a white, mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke rising above the city.
On April 29, drones struck the Perm Linear Production Dispatch Station (LPDS), with Telegram channels reporting Thursday morning that the fire was still ongoing.
A second strike followed later that day, with the Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ reporting that explosions and a fire at Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez caused by a Lyuty drone strike.
“LPDS Perm is a ‘transportation artery,’ and Permnefteorgsintez is a ‘processing plant.’ They operate within the same oil chain,” the channel said.
Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez is one of Russia’s largest refineries, with a capacity of about 13 million tons per year. A strategic Lukoil enterprise in the Urals, it supplies fuel for both the civilian market and the Russian military.
Exilenova+ later reported that a new tank caught fire at the Perm LPDS, while a pressurized unit was burning at the refinery.
“One of the AVT units at the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez plant is on fire – specifically AVT-4. Atmospheric-vacuum distillation is the main primary oil processing unit at the refinery, where crude oil is separated into fuel fractions,” the report says.
The OSINT Telegram channel CyberBoroshno subsequentlly confirmed, based on analysis of media materials, that a Lyuty drone struck the AVT-4 unit’s vacuum column, with fire also spreading to the atmospheric distillation column.
“Damage to both columns effectively puts the unit completely out of operation,” the report adds.
Regional Governor Dmitry Makhonin wrote on Telegram that “an enemy drone struck one of the industrial sites in the Perm Territory,” adding that employees were in protective shelters, there were no injuries or significant damage, and there was no chemical hazard or threat to residents. He said emergency services were on the scene and that “Unmanned Danger” and “Carpet” regimes remained in effect.
Astra also reported that universities in Perm canceled classes due to the attack. The Higher School of Economics in Perm and the Perm branch of Plekhanov Russian State University switched to distance learning, and classes were also canceled at Perm State National Research University.
Later, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) confirmed that it had hit infrastructure at Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez.
“For the second day in a row, drones from the SBU’s Special Operations Center ‘Alpha’ have successfully targeted Russian oil infrastructure near Perm. Today, a fire is burning at the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez refinery, located more than 1,500 km from Ukraine,” the statement said.
The SBU also confirmed OSINT reports about damage to the AVT-4 unit.
“As a result of the strike, the vacuum and atmospheric distillation columns caught fire. Their damage effectively disables the unit,” the report added.
In addition, the SBU confirmed a repeated strike on the Perm LPDS.
“Yesterday, this station was already hit by SBU drones. Today, new fires have broken out there,” the statement said.
The agency added that Russia no longer has a “safe rear.”
“Distance no longer guarantees protection – every region where enterprises support the war against Ukraine is within reach. The SBU has already demonstrated its ability to carry out long-range strikes and will continue to systematically target such facilities.”
In the early hours of April 30, Ukrainian drones also struck Dzerzhinsk in the Nizhny Novgorod region, according to local residents cited by the Russian outlet Shot. Residents reported around 10 explosions in different parts of the city, with further blasts heard in the southern and central areas of Kstovo. Regional authorities did not officially comment.
Based on eyewitness footage, Astra identified the target as the Sverdlov Plant, with a column of smoke visible above the facility.
The plant is one of Russia’s largest explosives producers, with over a century of history and place in the country’s military-industrial complex.
The plant is included in Kyiv’s sanctions list “for supporting actions that undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.” It has also been sanctioned by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Switzerland.
Ukrainian drones previously struck one of its workshops in October 2024.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said overnight air defenses intercepted and destroyed 189 Ukrainian drones across multiple Russian regions.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian drones had struck two other Russian cities – Orsk and Perm – hitting an oil refinery and a key pipeline facility.
Orsk, located about 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) from the Ukrainian border, was targeted in a strike confirmed by OSINT analysts from Astra. They reported that the Orsknefteorgsintez refinery – one of Russia’s largest, processing 5-6 million tons of oil annually – was hit.
In the Perm region, Governor Makhonin said a drone struck an industrial site in the Perm municipal district. Workers were evacuated, and no injuries were reported, though a fire broke out.
According to OSINT analysis cited by Exilenova+, the fire occurred at the Perm LPDS – a critical node in the Transneft system responsible for pumping, storing, and distributing oil through trunk pipelines. The facility supplies crude to regional refineries and links to export routes via ports including Primorsk, Ust-Luga, Novorossiysk, and Tuapse.
The channel also reported “oil rain” in parts of Perm, similar to earlier incidents in Tuapse.
President Volodymyr Zelensky later published footage from Perm, effectively confirming Ukraine’s involvement. He said he had received a report from the acting SBU head, Major General Yevhen Khmara, describing the strikes as part of “Ukrainian long-range sanctions” – a new phase in efforts to degrade Russia’s war capacity.
“These are fair Ukrainian responses to Russian terror,” Zelensky said, adding that the strikes target Russia’s military production, logistics, and oil export infrastructure.
He also called for a shift toward diplomacy, saying Moscow “must hear this signal.”
SBU later confirmed the strike on the Perm facility, stating that its Alpha Special Operations Center targeted the linear production and dispatching station located more than 1,500 kilometers from the border.
According to preliminary reports, the drone strike triggered a large-scale fire, with most oil storage tanks reportedly burning.