Photo: Social media
A fire broke out at the Azot chemical plant in Novomoskovsk overnight on June 14 following a Ukrainian drone attack. The blaze was confirmed by ASTRA analysts through video footage showing flames and thick smoke recorded about four kilometers from the facility.
At the same time, Tula Region Governor Dmitry Milyaev reported that debris from Ukrainian drones had fallen on the grounds of an industrial enterprise in Novomoskovsk, although he did not specify which facility was affected. NASA’s FIRMS satellite monitoring system also detected a thermal anomaly consistent with a fire at the Azot plant.
What is known about the Azot plant
Located in Russia’s Tula Region, Azot is one of the country’s largest chemical enterprises. Since 2002, it has been part of the EuroChem group and is among Russia’s leading producers of ammonia and nitrogen fertilizers.
The facility manufactures a wide range of chemical products, including ammonia, urea, methanol, UAN fertilizer, argon, and nitrogen-limestone compounds. Part of its output is linked to Russia’s military-industrial sector.
Ammonium nitrate, RDX, and HMX produced at the plant are used in the manufacture of explosives for artillery shells and aerial bombs. Methanol produced at the facility is also used as a component of rocket fuel.
According to ASTRA, citing Reuters, between 2022 and 2024 two EuroChem enterprises — Nevinnomyssky Azot and Novomoskovsk Azot — supplied at least 38,000 tonnes of acetic acid and nearly 5,000 tonnes of nitric acid to the Sverdlov Plant in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod Region. These substances are used in the production of RDX and HMX, which are later incorporated into artillery ammunition.
Earlier, Commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, reported that Ukrainian drones had also struck the Titan plant in occupied Armyansk, Crimea. The facility is Eastern Europe’s largest producer of titanium dioxide and manufactures materials used in gunpowder, explosives, and rocket fuel production.
