Ukrainian drone strike on Russian plant kills 7

A Ukrainian drone attack on a fertiliser plant in Russia’s western Smolensk region killed seven people and wounded 10 others, Russian officials said Wednesday.

The plant, just outside the Russian town of Dorogobuzh, lies around 290 kilometres (180 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

Unverified images published on social media purported to show the plant in flames early yesterday, with columns of smoke billowing into the night sky.

“The enemy struck PJSC Dorogobuzh, a civilian plant producing nitrogen fertiliser,” Smolensk region governor Vasily Anokhin said in a post on Telegram.

Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said later seven people were killed, updating a previous toll, in what would be one of the deadliest attacks on a Russian industrial site of the four-year war.

Ukraine fired “at least 30 drones equipped with explosive devices,” causing “significant damage” it said in a statement.

Rescuers had yesterday morning contained the fires, while authorities were considering evacuating residents from the neighbouring village for their safety, governor Anokhin added.

Meanwhile, lead Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov is due to meet with US envoy Steve Witkoff in Geneva today, Kyiv has announced, ahead of fresh trilateral talks with Russia expected in early March.

“Tomorrow he will meet with American negotiators Witkoff and (Jared) Kushner,” Ukrainian President Zelensky told a group of reporters, including from AFP.

He added that the meeting was part of “preparations for a trilateral meeting with Russia, which we believe will take place in early March”.

Meanwhile, the first Ukrainian drone production plant has started its operations in Britain, Ukraine’s ambassador Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said yesterday.

Zaluzhnyi said the producer, Ukrspecsystems, founded in 2014, had proved the efficiency of its drones on the frontline.

“Ukraine is fighting a war amid constant missile strikes, infrastructure destruction and threats to production facilities. Therefore, the launch of production in the UK has a deep strategic logic,” Zaluzhnyi said on the Telegram app.

“This is not a shift of the centre of gravity away from Ukraine. It is an expansion of our joint capabilities…,” he said.