An explosion of unknown cause has rocked one of Russia’s largest ammunition manufacturing plants, according to officials in central Russia's Perm region, which lies about 1,000km east of Moscow.
"Windows and doors were broken [but] there are no victims, there is no threat to the populace," a statement said. "The incident did not affect the plant’s production process."
⚡️An explosion occurred at a military factory in Russia's #Perm Krai.
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) October 31, 2023
The incident took place at the building of the Solikamsk plant "Ural," one of the largest military-industrial factories in Russia. They produce various military ammunition and explosives there. pic.twitter.com/q18ASsVWzw
Throughout more than a year-and-a-half of war, there have been dozens of similar incidents at various Russian facilities ranging from military warehouses to oil facilities to electrical grid stations and energy pipelines.
Both Ukrainian and US media have at times admitted some of these instances are part of a covert Ukrainian sabotage campaign with the assistance of Western intelligence. So naturally, when a new explosion happens, there's an immediate question of whether it is connected to sabotage, or an industrial accident.
The new incident, resulting in apparent damage to the Solikamsk Plant Ural, is raising eyebrows also given it's a facility under Russian defense giant Rostec:
Images shared on social media appeared to show a plume of smoke rising from the plant following the blast, but The Moscow Times could not independently verify the photos.
An unnamed local emergency official told the news website Podyom that the explosion did not cause a fire or impact work at the plant.
“All in all, the situation is calm,” the official said. Solikamsk Plant Ural, part of the defense conglomerate Rostec, is one of Russia’s largest manufacturers of gunpowder and explosives.
Earlier this month, at a time the globe's attention has by and large been completely focused on events in Gaza, The Washington Post published a bombshell report openly admitting that the CIA is actively running covert ops inside Russia, which has included the killing of journalist and geopolitical commentator Darya Dugina.
Russia is ramping up production capacity and building military plants across the country
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) October 26, 2023
This is reported by journalists of the project "Schemes". They produce and repair tactical and strategic airplanes, attack helicopters, as well as assemble drones and ammunition. pic.twitter.com/rNOSppljtB
The report stunningly laid out that as part of this shadow war, "The missions have involved elite teams of Ukrainian operatives drawn from directorates that were formed, trained, and equipped in close partnership with the CIA, according to current and former Ukrainian and US officials. Since 2015, the CIA has spent tens of millions of dollars to transform Ukraine’s Soviet-formed services into potent allies against Moscow, officials said."
Whether this latest blast is part of this covert ops program or not (perhaps just a 'normal' accident?), it will certainly be a plausible question in the minds of the Russians.
