On 11 August, drones operated by Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) targeted the Orenburg Helium Plant in Russia.
According to sources at LB.ua, it is the only enterprise in Russia producing a critically important component for the manufacture of missiles, as well as for the space and aviation industries.
Local residents reported seeing drones overhead and hearing a series of explosions in the vicinity of the plant. At around 8 p.m., local authorities closed a section of the M-5 Ural federal highway near the villages of Perevolotskoye and Kholodnye Klyuchi – the location of the DIU’s target.
The Orenburg Helium Plant is the only helium production facility in Russia and one of the largest in Europe. Its annual capacity is about 15 billion cubic metres of natural gas. Helium is widely used in rocket manufacturing, the space industry and aviation.
“The target attacked by military intelligence is directly involved in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and is one of the key sites of the Russian military–industrial complex,” sources told LB.ua.
- Earlier, DIU drones struck a Russian oil refinery 2,000 kilometres from Ukraine.