VELIKY NOVGOROD, Russia, Dec. 11 — Ukrainian drones struck one of Russia’s largest chemical plants overnight, sparking a massive fire at a facility that produces key components for explosives used by Moscow’s forces.
The Acron chemical plant in Veliky Novgorod came under attack in the early hours of December 11, with residents reporting explosions and drones flying overhead throughout the night.
Novgorod Oblast Governor Aleksandr Dronov confirmed the attack around 04:00 local time, saying air defense systems had been responding in the region. Videos posted on social media showed a large-scale fire and glow over the industrial facility visible from eight kilometers away.
Strategic target for Russia’s war effort
Acron PJSC serves as the lead business of the Acron Group, one of Russia’s largest producers of mineral fertilizers. The plant is strategically important for the Russian economy and critical for the country’s defense industrial base.
The facility produces ammonia, nitric acid, and ammonium nitrate—key components in the manufacture of gunpowder and explosives used by Russian forces.
Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, confirmed the strike, saying Ukrainian forces hit the chemical plant along with other critical infrastructure.
Oligarch with Kremlin ties
The ultimate beneficiary of the Acron Group is believed to be Russian oligarch Viatcheslav Kantor, who is under sanctions from Ukraine, the European Union, and the United Kingdom as an individual close to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.
As usual, Russian authorities remained silent about the consequences of the strike on the plant’s production facilities.
Second plant hit same night
The Veliky Novgorod strike was part of a broader Ukrainian operation. Dorogobuzh chemical plant in Russia’s Smolensk region also came under attack overnight, causing a fire at another facility producing fertilizers and industrial chemicals.
Brovdi said the Unmanned Systems Forces hit “two Russian chemical plants” along with a number of other critical, strategic, and military infrastructure facilities, including an oil refinery.
Systematic campaign against war infrastructure
Ukraine’s defense forces continue to conduct systematic strikes on facilities within Russia that sustain the Russian war machine, including oil refineries, ammunition depots, and defense industrial base businesses.
The strikes demonstrate Ukraine’s growing capability to conduct long-range precision attacks deep inside Russian territory, targeting high-value military and dual-use industrial assets beyond the immediate front lines.
