Fire, explosions reported at gunpowder plant in Russia's Tambov Oblast amid drone attack
Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
A large fire reportedly broke out at a gunpowder plant in the town of Kotovsk in Russia's Tambov Oblast overnight on June 11, Russian Telegram channels reported.
Residents reported hearing multiple explosions amid a Ukrainian drone attack on the region. Videos posted on social media purportedly show a large fire in the vicinity of the plant.
No information was immediately available as to the extent of damage caused.
Russian state media TASS claimed that a large-scale drone attack on the region was repelled by Russian air defense systems, which resulted in a fire. The outlet did not mention an attack on the plant.
Regional Governor Maxim Egorov said that the fire that broke out was extinguished by emergency services — without specifying the location of the blaze. Egorov claimed that there were no casualties as a result of the attack.
The Kyiv Independent cannot independently verify reports of the attack on the plant. Ukraine's military has not yet commented on the alleged attack.
0:00
/
1×
The gunpowder plant has previously been the target of Ukrainian attack. In July 2024, the facility was struck with a Ukrainian attack drone, a military intelligence source told the Kyiv Independent. The plant was also previously struck in January 2024 and November 2023.
The Tambov gunpowder plant is one of the largest industrial facilities in Russia that manufactures ammunition for the army, including gunpowder for small arms cartridges.
Its production has been reportedly increased by a third since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The plant was put on the U.S. sanction list in 2023.
Ukrainian forces regularly conduct drone strikes and sabotage acts on Russian territory, targeting military assets, oil refineries, and industrial facilities.
On the morning of June 10, drones reportedly attacked targets in Russia's Tatarstan Republic and Leningrad Oblast.
On June 6, drones struck a Russian military plant in nearby Michurinsk, Tambov Oblast.
As peace negotiations stall and Russia refuses the accept a ceasefire, the war has escalated.
Russia intensified aerial assaults on Ukrainian cities in late May, launching some of the heaviest assaults of the full-scale war over three consecutive nights. Less than a week later, Ukraine launched Operation Spiderweb, an audacious mass drone strike that reportedly damaged 41 Russian military planes.
In the days since, Ukraine has continued to target key Russian military assets, launching strikes against missile bases and the Crimean Bridge.
Read also: Zelensky calls on West to slash Russian oil price cap in half as strikes on Ukraine escalate
We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
CNN Data Chief Stunned By ‘Definitely One Of Trump's Worst Polls'
CNN's chief data analyst Harry Enten flagged what he believes is 'definitely one of Trump's worst polls.' 'Just horrible across the board,' Enten wrote on X, formerly Twitter, about new polling released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University, which shows President Donald Trump spectacularly slumping on multiple key issues. Among the 1,265 registered voters that the university polled nationwide, some 54% disapproved of Trump's handling of his role as POTUS, and 53% expressed an unfavorable opinion of him. Some 53% also opposed the president's signature, so-called Big Beautiful Bill on spending and taxation, which caused a flare-up between Trump and his onetime 'first buddy' Elon Musk, who opposed the proposed legislation. A majority of those polled also disapproved of Trump's handling of immigration, deportations, the economy, trade, universities, the Israel-Hamas conflict and the Russia-Ukraine war. Enten added that it's 'just bad stuff all around.' Terry Moran Reveals What's Next After Trump Slam Led To Exit From ABC News Trump Ducks 'Les Misérables' Character Question, Internet Brutally Answers It For Him 'Daily Show' Audience Erupts Over Desi Lydic's Trump Parade Realization Canadian Politician Reveals How 'Gangster' Trump's Imminent Visit Has Triggered Alarm
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Brussels, Washington, And The Kremlin's Oil-And-Gas-For-War Exports
Russia's President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on the state armament program for 2027-2036 at ... More the Kremlin. Given continued funding by gas exports to Europe, Moscow's economy may be able to support further conflict in Ukraine and beyond.(Photo by Gavriil Grigorov / POOL / AFP) (Photo by GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) A major Ukrainian drone operation dubbed 'Spiderweb', conducted on Sunday, June 1, damaged strategic bomber assets deep in Russia. The attack, combined with a strike against the multi-billion-dollar Kerch Strait bridge built after Moscow annexed the Crimea in 2014 to connect it to the Russian mainland, was a huge blow, both in image and in substance. However, it comes at a time when Russia's economic picture is quietly improving, and the offensive picking up steam, which has allowed Moscow to refuse to make any real progress on ceasefire talks despite U.S. President Donald Trump's best efforts. Financial improvement is excellent news for Russia's President Vladimir Putin, who is hellbent on outrunning economic decline at home and attaining victory on the battlefield. Money from energy sales continues to fill Russia's war chest, which is why now is the time for Washington and Europe to work together to turn off Moscow's spigot. Only by depriving the Kremlin of the funds needed to sustain the war can peace be restored at the battlefront. Unfortunately, things have been going in exactly the opposite direction during the first half of 2025. Despite sanctions, Russian gas exports to Europe through the Turkstream pipeline rose more than 10% from April to May, and Russia's oil and gas giant Gazprom posted an unexpected $8.4 billion Q1 profit, up from $7 billion in losses in 2023. On Tuesday, June 10th, the EU announced that it is working on a package of additional sanctions, lowering the price cap for Russian oil from $45 per barrel from $60, as well as banning the use of Russian banks by third countries and stopping any EU operators from being allowed to use Russia's Nord Stream pipelines. If the EU members approve these new proposed sanctions, they will certainly have an impact -- but this is by no means guaranteed. Slovakia and Hungary are two of the most pro-Russian regimes in the EU and have actively opposed sanctions on Russia. It may change, now that Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary announced that Russia only understands the language of force. However, if Washington and Brussels cooperate to tighten the sanctions regime, this could be a game-changer and eventually force Moscow to negotiate. On the other side of the Atlantic, leaders in the United States are acting to decisively end Russia's benefit from its energy industries. The Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, introduced by Senator Linsey Graham (R-SC), a Trump ally, contains measures to prohibit American entities from investing in or exporting to the Russian energy sector, impose a 500 percent tariff on Russian goods and services entering the and levy the same tariff on countries that sell, supply, transfer, or purchase oil, uranium, natural gas, petroleum products, or petrochemical products originating in Russia. These measures would serve the dual purpose of weakening Moscow's energy trade while putting pressure on states that hesitate to halt their purchases of Russian energy products, including the Europeans, if they fail to step up actively. Russia's economic turnaround through 2025 can primarily be attributed to surging energy exports. The Trump Administration's hesitancy to impose sanctions, despite Trump's willingness to threaten them, created room for this export surge. Without seeing sanctions ratchet up, and with rumors floating that sanctions might be lifted, more customers became willing to turn to Russia. Despite successful maneuver like Operation Spiderweb, a war economy fueled by oil and gas exports ... More still allows Russia to conduct large scale counterattacks, like that seen in Kyiv on June 6th. Russia's foreign currency reserves, once under pressure, as Moscow struggled to keep the ruble from imploding, have recovered, moving past their pre-war high of $630 billion to $680 billion. The Russian ruble made a strong recovery, becoming a top-performing currency of 2025 so far. The ruble has outperformed the Russian government's own budgetary projections with a 40% increase in value against the dollar, a jump of almost four times the next best-performing currency. While this can be attributed to increased domestic economic controls, rising oil prices, and continued exports, another factor may be the sustained trade and indirect financial flows from China, which has remained Moscow's most reliable economic partner. It isn't the entire EU that is importing Russian oil and gas, but a few key countries are more reliant on these imports than others. Hungary, Slovakia, and France were the largest importers in November 2024 with Austria and Spain rounding out the top five. Countries with pro-Russian leadership are not the only ones that have continued importing Russian energy. European governments that decry Russia's aggression continue to throw Moscow an economic lifeline due to their inability to find alternative energy sources. For now, Russian oil and gas are cheaper and more easily accessible despite sanctions, making them the primary solution for the energy security issues regularly experienced by the EU, like cold temperatures and lackluster wind generation. President Trump has also shaken the Europeans by using energy as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations, making some European countries realize that their reliance on the U.S. may be a vulnerability. This has, paradoxically, driven EU countries back towards Russia as an energy supplier—it remains to be seen whether they will reverse course and move in unison to stop funding Moscow's war. Europe's stance on Russia is only growing more divided, as the recent Polish election, which narrowly awarded right-wing candidate Karol Nawrocki the presidency, demonstrates, posing a further challenge for the EU. President Nawrocki has supported military aid to Ukraine but is against allowing it to join NATO, believing it could drag the alliance into conflict with Russia. The new Polish president's 'Eurosceptic' stance may lead to alignment with more pro-Russian leaders in Europe such as Hungary's Orban and Slovakia's Fico. The European Union has been far from united on sanctions regarding oil and gas exports since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in early 2022. Despite sanctions, Russia's energy exports have proven more resilient than expected, thanks to strategic rerouting through the TurkStream pipeline and continued demand from nations unwilling or unable to pivot quickly. ISTANBUL, TURKEY - The TurkStream pipeline is a key avenue through which Russia continues to ... More transport gas to Europe. (Photo by Isa Terli/) The EU had set a goal of ending all Russian gas imports by 2027, but the road to that goal has been riddled with a lack of enforcement, exceptions, and relapses of reliance. While this plan sets a roadmap for measures to end energy dependence on Russia, it must be supported by baseload energy generation that will not fluctuate like solar and wind. The plan includes measures to reduce uranium and other nuclear energy imports from Moscow, but both individual states and the EU as a whole must focus on rebuilding a nuclear supply chain and stimulating domestic growth in nuclear power generation. Simply declaring long-term goals without follow-up and enforcement is ineffectual and undermines Europe's geostrategic credibility. Russia's 2025 economic gains demonstrate the need for sustained pressure and a united front that presses Moscow to the negotiating table. Despite impressive wins like the recent drone strike, allowing Russia to make economic gains, risks a weakening of Ukraine, and heightened Russian ambition looking toward the rest of the continent. The options seem clear—either the West moves to hit Russia in the pocketbook and press for a ceasefire and peace, or money will flow that allows Moscow to keep grinding on. While care must be taken not to destabilize the world economy and reignite inflation, a window of opportunity for cooperation is open now to help stop the bloodshed. And certainly, the world economy – including America's – will only suffer if Russia is emboldened to keep advancing aggressively in Ukraine and beyond.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Watch live: Hegseth, Joint Chiefs chair face House questioning on Defense budget
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Dan 'Razin' Caine will testify Thursday morning before the House Armed Services Committee on the Pentagon's fiscal 2026 budget request. The hearing comes a day after the duo faced tense questioning from the Senate. Hegseth took heat from both sides of the aisle on the Russia-Ukraine war, deployment of Marines to Los Angeles amid immigration protests and President Trump's other defense priorities. The Trump administration also signaled Wednesday the U.S. would scale back the number of personnel in the Middle East, even as tensions rise between Israel and Iran. The event is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. EDT. Watch the live video above.
