Massive blast shakes suburb of central Russian city Izhevsk
Shafaq News/ A substantial explosion shook the outskirts of Izhevsk in central Russia on Wednesday. State-run media reported that the blast took place at a facility for manufacturing machines and missiles.
Videos circulated on social media depicted a large fireball illuminating the night sky above the testing grounds of the Votkinsk Machine Building Plant in the village of Yagul, situated just outside the capital city of the republic of Udmurtia, around 1,000 kilometers east of Moscow.
The state-run TASS news agency, citing an anonymous emergency dispatcher, stated that the explosion was part of a "planned" rocket test. The source was quoted as saying, "It was a rocket engine test. It wasn't an emergency."
The local branch of Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry in Udmurtia conveyed on the Telegram messaging app that no emergencies were reported and no socially significant incidents occurred.
However, Western media noted that there was no mention of a scheduled test on the website of the Russian Emergency Ministry, where such notices are typically published.
According to the independent Russian news outlet "Mediazona," the official "Telegram" channel of the Emergency Ministry in the Republic of Udmurtia initially stated that the Russian Emergency Ministry did not announce the powerful explosion at the plant in advance. The message was reportedly deleted after a few minutes, and after half an hour, the ministry published another post stating that "no emergency or abnormal situation was recorded on the territory of the Republic of Udmurtia, and no incidents of social significance occurred."
Following the explosion, a large fire broke out at the plant, and it remains unclear whether there were any casualties.
"Newsweek" magazine reported that the Russian army utilized weapons produced by the plant in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which began two years ago.
The Votkinsk Machine Building Plant is affiliated with Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos. While the plant manufactures goods for civilian use, it also produces weaponry for the Russian military, including Iskander, Topol-M, and Yars missiles. Additionally, it decommissions missiles that are no longer intended for use.
In 2011, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the plant and described it as "one of the leading companies in the Russian defense industry." Additionally, at the end of 2023, the plant published 19 government contracts for the production of nuclear weapons components.
