In a drone attack in the night to Thursday, the chemical complex of the Bashkir Soda Company (BSK) in Sterlitamak in the Russian republic of Bashkortostan was apparently hit. Smoke rose over the plant, as Ukrinform reports citing The Moscow Times and as OSINT analysts report after evaluating photos from Sterlitamak. There is no confirmation of damage to the facility.
The attack occurred in the night from 28 to 29 October. According to local monitoring channels, the drone danger was reported at around 5.00 a.m. local time, about an hour before Russian authorities confirmed the danger and suspended flight operations at Ufa airport, as the English-language news outlet The New Voice of Ukraine reports. Residents of Sterlitamak reported explosions and impacts in the city. OSINT analysts concluded after evaluating photos from Sterlitamak that the smoke came from the Bashkir Soda Company.
According to The New Voice of Ukraine, BSK is one of Russia’s largest chemical complexes and the country’s leading manufacturer of soda and sodium bicarbonate. It belongs to the chemical holding Roskhim, which holds a majority stake of 57.43 per cent, and was formed in May 2013 from the merger of the two Soviet-era plants Soda and Kaustik. The company is on a register of defence enterprises vital to the war effort, classified as confidential, which is maintained by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade.
According to these reports, BSK supplies hydrochloric acid and dichloroethane and directly provides the Russian military with raw materials. It is also Russia’s only domestic manufacturer of terephthaloyl chloride, a chemical needed for the production of synthetic ballistic fibres, high-strength polymers and aramid materials. These substances are used in the manufacture of modern body armour, helmets and protective elements for military vehicles and aircraft.
Already on 27 August, according to independent media, BSK was the target of a drone attack in Bashkortostan, in which fires broke out both on the plant grounds and in a nearby Ozon warehouse. At that time, according to the company, the Ozon logistics complex in Ufa had to suspend operations.
Meanwhile, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin stated that in the night to Thursday 613 drones flew towards the Moscow region. They reached the region between 20.30 on Wednesday and 7.00 on Thursday, most were intercepted far from the air defence, 231 of them on approach to Moscow, according to Sobyanin. The information could not be independently verified. According to reports by the independent Russian outlet ASTRA, the airports Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky temporarily restricted flight operations.
