Russia was once again in flames today as a suspected Ukrainian drone strike’ devastated a chemical plant in Vladimir Putin’s home city of St Petersburg, leaving a “pillar of fire”.
Huge repeated explosions were heard at the facility in Gatchina – which makes acetone that can be used for military explosives and rocket fuel.
Moscow did not initially specify the cause of the 6am detonations, which sent flames high into the sky.
However, some Ukrainian sources reported that its drones had been in the Leningrad region of Russia, where the plant is located.
The Russian defence ministry declined to officially comment on Ukrainian drones behind the cause of the inferno.
But air samples were urgently being taken amid fears for residents from acetone’s ‘toxic fumes’ which can cause headaches, dizziness, and irritation to the throat and eyes, as well as skin problems.
The colourless, volatile, and flammable liquid with a distinctive sweet smell is a widely used solvent and industrial chemical which can be used for rocket fuel production and explosives manufacturing.
Footage released on social media showed repeated bright flashes as explosion after an explosion struck the plant in Gatchina, known as the location of several tsarist palaces.
The initial “muffled explosions” sparked multiple fires, which grew louder and louder. One witness said he saw a “pillar of fire” on his way to work.
Another man inside a vehicle filming the inferno said: “****, even the car got hot.”
A firefighting train was sent to the scene as the emergency services battled to contain the flames, which spread to 20,450 square feet.
The large-scale acetone production plant is at the Ingria Technopark business incubator and innovation hub.
Workers from the acetone facility were reported to have evacuated the danger zone. But the giant explosions came during a night when Ukrainian drone attacks also hit Russia’s Rostov and Krasnodar regions.
Footage showed flames at an industrial enterprise in the village of Krym, Rostov region, as 16 drones were reportedly shot down over the region.
Reports said the huge blaze in Krym was at the PlastFactor plant, ostensibly producing floor coverings. There were also reports of a Ukrainian strike on the 238th artillery brigade and a nearby military airfield in the Krasnodar region.
Meanwhile, an aviation fuel supply base in Engels, Saratov region, was burning for the third day after a devastating Ukrainian drone strike.
This has reportedly left a shortage of fuel for Putin’s nuclear strike Tu-95 and Tu-160 aircraft.
Separately, in Kyiv, a tower block was hit by debris from Russian drones, which were shot down by air defences.
