Drones attacked Dzerzhinsk in Nizhny Novgorod region of Russian Federation: smoke was seen in area around explosives plant. VIDEO+PHOTO
On the night of Tuesday 19 August 2026, drones attacked Dzerzhinsk in the Nizhny Novgorod Region of the Russian Federation.
This was reported by Censor.NET, citing the ASTRA Telegram channel.
Initial details
During the night, eyewitnesses from Dzerzhinsk shared footage of a massive drone attack and thick smoke over the city.
An ASTRA OSINT analyst has determined that the source of the smoke is, in all likelihood, located on the premises of the Sverdlov Explosives Plant.
What is known about the facility?
The Y. M. Sverdlov Plant is a key enterprise in Dzerzhinsk, forming the backbone of the city’s economy, and forms part of Russia’s military-industrial complex. It is a strategically important defence and chemical plant, one of the largest manufacturers of explosives in Russia with a history spanning over 100 years.
The enterprise is included on Ukraine’s sanctions list for supporting actions that undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. On 23 June 2023, the plant was added to the European Union’s sanctions list; it is also subject to sanctions imposed by the US, the UK, Japan and Switzerland.
- Previously, the Sverdlov Plant had been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian UAVs.
