Russian petrochemical plant hit in overnight drone attack in Stavropol Krai PHOTO/VIDEO

A petrochemical plant operated by Stavrolen LLC was attacked overnight in the city of Budennovsk, in Russia’s Stavropol Krai, according to an open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysis by the investigative outlet ASTRA.

Residents of Budennovsk heard explosions followed by a fire during the night of December 23. ASTRA analyzed video footage published by the Exilenova+ Telegram channel and determined that the recording was made from Mendeleev Avenue, approximately three kilometres from the blaze. 

Based on the analysis, the strike hit the Stavrolen petrochemical facility located at 1 Rosa Luxemburg Street, where a fire subsequently broke out.

Stavrolen LLC is a major industrial enterprise in Russia’s chemical and petrochemical sector and is part of the Lukoil group.

According to the business publication Expert Yuga, the plant is among Russia’s leading producers of polyethylene and polypropylene. The company ranked third among the 100 largest firms in the North Caucasus Federal District by sales volume in 2021.

It is reported to produce around 340,000 tonnes of ethylene, 319,000 tonnes of polyethylene, and 113,000 tonnes of polypropylene annually, and reached a cumulative output of eight million tonnes of polyethylene in 2021. Stavrolen’s products are widely used in the production of pipes, films, cable insulation, and paints and coatings.

The governor of Stavropol Krai confirmed that the city had been targeted by strikes and that a fire had occurred in the industrial zone. He stated that unmanned aerial vehicles had attempted to attack targets in Budennovsk and that air defence systems were operating. 

According to preliminary information, there were no casualties, and residential buildings as well as critical urban infrastructure were not damaged. Emergency services were deployed to the site to deal with the fires.

Separately, authorities in Russia’s Rostov region reported that air defence forces repelled a drone attack across eight districts. Regional Governor Yuri Slyusar said that UAVs were shot down in the Chertkovsky, Oktyabrsky, Ust-Donetsky, Aksaysky, Rodionovo-Nesvetaysky, Konstantinovsky, Tarasovsky, and Dubovsky districts.

No injuries were reported in the Rostov region.

In the Konstantinovsky district, falling debris damaged a fence at a private residence, while in the Aksaysky district two residential buildings under construction sustained damage. One of the buildings caught fire, which was later extinguished over an area of approximately 40 square meters.

By Sabina Mammadli