Explosion at gunpowder factory in central Russia, drone fragments found at site

Officials are investigating an explosion at a gunpowder factory in central Russia on November 11 as a potential “terrorist attack,” reports the newspaper Kommersant. The incident occurred at the Tambov Gunpowder Factory, one of Russia’s largest producers of gunpowder for small arms and artillery ammunition.

The explosion and resulting fire destroyed a building with an area of 3,200 square feet. Regional officials in Russia’s Emergency Management Ministry say no employees were injured.

Kommersant’s sources say that investigators found and recovered fragments of a drone that is believed to have attacked the plant. The drone is believed to have struck the roof of the building.

The case has been entrusted to an office in Russia’s Federal Investigative Committee with an imposing name: the Department for the Investigation of War Crimes, Genocide, and the Rehabilitation of Nazism of the Main Investigative Directorate. According to Kommersant, it is this unit that investigates all significant crimes committed with the use of drones and missiles on Russian territory.

Russian authorities have accused Ukraine of launching the drone. The Ukrainian border is roughly 435 miles from the Tambov region.