The plant makes ammonia and ammonium nitrate. The Russian army turns them into TNT and RDX. Ukraine just set it on fire — again

Ukrainian drones struck the Dorogobuzh chemical plant in western Russia's Smolensk Oblast overnight on 25 February, setting fire to a facility that produces precursor chemicals for military explosives, Militarnyi reported. 

The overnight strike

The attack took place overnight on 25 February. The weapon used remains unknown, though drones are the most likely option, according to Miltiarnyi. Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ published images showing a fire on the plant's premises.

Russian monitoring channels first picked up drones over Smolensk Oblast around 4 a.m. Russia's defense ministry claimed 11 drones were shot down over the region.

The Chemical plant in Smolensk Oblast is not the only target in Ukraine's deep-strike campaign. In January 2025, Ukrainian forces struck the Smolensk aviation plant, which manufactures Kh-59 air-to-surface missiles and components for Kh-101 cruise missiles. That facility was hit again in October 2025, with the intelligence directorate confirming the strike disrupted missile production.

Previous strike on Dorogobuzh plant and the broader campaign

Operators from the 1st Separate Center and the GRAF unit of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces struck the same Dorogobuzh plant overnight on 11 December. Local residents filmed a fire at the facility then as well.

The latest strike comes just days after Ukrainian Liutyi drones disabled critical equipment at another explosives-linked chemical plant — Metafrax in Perm Krai, over 1,600 km from the border. Two drones hit a rectification column, a key element of the methanol synthesis and purification unit. Such damage typically forces an emergency shutdown of the entire production process.