Drones Strike Taganrog Airfield and Tolyatti Chemical Plant

A wave of drones struck the port city of Taganrog in Russia’s Rostov region and KuibyshevAzot chemical plant in Tolyatti, Samara region, early Saturday morning, Sept. 12. Videos shared across local Telegram channels showed smoke rising over several districts following a series of loud detonations.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. OSINT analysts cited by Astra Telegram channel determined that one primary smoke column rose directly from the area of the Taganrog-Tsentralny military airfield. The air base serves as the home station for Russia’s 708th Military Transport Aviation Regiment. Adjacent to the airfield sits the 325th Aircraft Repair Plant, a strategic defense facility specializing in the overhaul and maintenance of military transport aircraft and aviation components. Monitoring channel Crimean Wind reported that satellite data also registered a separate blaze on the grounds of the Taganrog Automobile Plant (TagAZ), with local monitoring groups indicating a potential storage tank fire. Taganrog Mayor Svetlana Kambulova confirmed the assault early Saturday morning, claiming that Russian air defense units intercepted incoming unmanned aircraft. “Around 7:00 a.m., air defenses destroyed drones,” Kambulova said in an official statement, conceding that the falling debris triggered localized fires across the municipal area. Fires at KuibyshevAzot chemical plant in Tolyatti Drone strikes on Saturday, Sept. 12, also targeted the KuibyshevAzot chemical plant in Tolyatti, Samara region, igniting a blaze across the industrial facility, monitoring channel Exilenova+ reported. Other Topics of Interest Putin Admits Russia Is World’s Biggest Sanctions Target, Ramps Up Anti-West Rhetoric Speaking at BRICS and later taking questions from Russian journalists, Putin mocked the G7 and blamed “Western globalists” for Europe’s troubles. KuibyshevAzot is a major supplier for the Russian chemical industry and military-industrial complex, manufacturing polymer materials and chemical raw components. Its core output includes caprolactam, polyamide-6, high-tenacity industrial yarns, and tire cord. According to industry data, the facility produces approximately half of Russia’s caprolactam and about 75% of its tire cord, maintaining a dominant market share for multiple grades of polyamide materials. Analysts noted that operational disruptions at the plant could affect supply chains providing components to Russian defense manufacturers and broader industrial sectors. Perm chemical plant and nationwide industrial drone campaign The overnight strike in the Rostov region follows a wave of Ukrainian drone attacks targeting industrial and chemical infrastructure deep inside Russia on Friday, Sept. 11. Earlier on Friday morning, drones targeted the Azot chemical plant in Berezniki, Perm region, situated roughly 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) from the Ukrainian border. Owned by Russian chemical conglomerate Uralchem, the facility is one of the largest chemical enterprises in the country and Russia’s sole producer of sodium nitrate and crystalline sodium nitrite, alongside ammonium nitrate, urea, and nitric acid used in explosives production. While the Russian Defense Ministry did not officially confirm structural damage at Azot, footage published by local residents captured a drone diving toward the facility amid gunfire and rising smoke. The incident prompted regional authorities to issue a high-level drone alert, leading several regional academic institutions – including Perm State University and Perm Polytechnic University – to evacuate campuses and cancel classes. The sustained aerial campaign has also targeted energy refining and supply logistics across Russia. Concurrent strikes on Friday targeted the Rosneft-owned Saratov Oil Refinery and ignited fires at an Ozon distribution center in Saratov, while another strike in Volgograd damaged an industrial facility and a residential apartment building, hospitalizing two people. Ukrainian drones have struck Russian oil refineries more than 70 times since the beginning of 2026, according to Bloomberg, driving domestic refining downturns and acute gasoline deficits that have forced at least 17 Russian regions to impose retail fuel rationing while increasing reliance on imported petroleum products. Tymur Dubovyk - journalist, newsfeed editor