Drones attacked two large chemical enterprises in the Perm Krai of the Russian Federation

In the morning of September 11, during a massive drone attack on the Perm Krai of the Russian Federation, industrial facilities were attacked. According to Astra and Exilenova+, it concerns two large chemical enterprises - the "Azot" plant of the "Uralchem" company in Berezniki and "Metafrax Chemicals" in Gubakha. Their products are used, in particular, as raw materials for chemical production associated with manufacturing explosive substances.

Perm Krai Governor Dmitry Makhonin confirmed a massive attack on the northern districts of the region and reported an attack on two industrial facilities. According to him, Russian air defense forces and mobile fire groups shot down 36 drones.

There are no casualties, according to preliminary information from Russian authorities. After the attack, air quality checks also began in the region, and operational and emergency services worked at the industrial sites.

Smoke rose over "Azot" after explosions

Based on eyewitness videos and materials from monitoring channels, Astra identified one of the targeted facilities as the "Azot" branch of JSC "OCC "Uralchem" in Berezniki.

In videos released after the attack, smoke is visible over the territory of the enterprise. Workers at the plant also reported explosions and shutdown of the technological process. Officially, the enterprise itself had not released detailed data on the consequences of the attack at the time of publication.

"Azot" is one of the large chemical complexes in Russia. The site occupies about 140 hectares and includes approximately 90 production buildings.

The enterprise produces ammonia, nitric acid, ammonium and potassium nitrate, urea, nitrite-nitrate salts, and other chemical products. By the end of 2025, the plant had produced about 2.35 million tons of products.

Some of these chemical raw materials have dual-use purposes. Specifically, nitric acid is used in technological processes for producing explosive substances and gunpowders. Astra notes that the relevant raw materials are used by Russian defense industry enterprises.

At the same time, open data from "Uralchem" itself characterizes "Azot" primarily as a large producer of mineral fertilizers and industrial chemicals, so direct production of ammunition or explosives by the plant is not confirmed.

The second facility is reportedly "Metafrax Chemicals"

Monitoring channel Exilenova+ reported that another targeted enterprise was PJSC "Metafrax Chemicals" in the city of Gubakha, Perm Krai. The consequences of the strike for its production capacities are being clarified.

"Metafrax Chemicals" is one of the largest Russian producers of methanol and its processing products. The enterprise also produces formaldehyde, urotropine, pentaerythritol, urea, melamine, and other chemical products.

Certain types of the enterprise's products may be used in downstream production chains for manufacturing explosive materials. In particular, urotropine and pentaerythritol have industrial applications in the production of explosive components.

Russian authorities have not officially named the enterprises that were attacked. Identification of "Azot" was made by Astra, and the attack on "Metafrax Chemicals" was reported by Exilenova+.

In Berezniki, schools were closed and flights were restricted

Before reports of strikes in Berezniki and Solikamsk, air raid sirens sounded for several hours, and explosions were reported.

According to Astra, classes in schools were canceled in Berezniki, and the operation of some medical facilities and administrations of industrial enterprises was disrupted. At the Bolshoye Savino airport in Perm, restrictions on receiving and departing aircraft were in effect from the morning.

After the attack, the regional governor also stated the need to strengthen protection of industrial facilities. According to him, mobile fire groups are already deployed at most strategically important enterprises of Perm Krai, and the region plans to further develop a multi-level counter-drone system.

For "Azot", this is not the first drone attack. The enterprise was hit previously in October 2025, after which the technological cycle at the plant was temporarily halted.

The attack on enterprises in Perm Krai occurred amid strikes on other industrial and logistics facilities in Russia: the same morning in Saratov, an Ozon logistics center caught fire after a UAV attack, and Astra recorded a fire at the Saratov Refinery - the cause of the fire at the refinery had not been established at that time.