Drones Strike Taganrog Airfield and Tolyatti Chemical Plant

On Saturday morning, September 12, a swarm of drones attacked the Taganrog airfield and the Tolyatti chemical plant in Russia's Rostov and Samara regions, respectively. Local footage showed smoke billowing from various districts following a series of loud explosions. Analysis by OSINT experts, cited by the Astra Telegram channel, indicated that the primary smoke plume originated from the Taganrog-Tsentralny military airfield, which houses Russia's 708th Military Transport Aviation Regiment.

Adjacent to the airfield was the 325th Aircraft Repair Plant, a key defense facility tasked with repairing and maintaining military transport aircraft and aviation components. The Crimean Wind monitoring channel reported a separate fire on the grounds of the TagAZ (Taganrog Automobile Plant), with local groups suspecting a storage tank blaze.

Taganrog Mayor Svetlana Kambulova confirmed the drone attack in an early morning statement, stating that Russian air defenses had successfully intercepted the drones. She noted that debris from the strikes caused localized fires across the city. The drones also targeted the KuibyshevAzot chemical plant in Tolyatti, igniting a fire that could disrupt supply chains for key components used by Russian defense manufacturers and other industrial sectors.

Notably, KuibyshevAzot is a major supplier of polymer materials and chemical raw materials, producing approximately half of Russia's caprolactam and 75% of its tire cord. The overnight drone assault on Russian industrial infrastructure follows a series of Ukrainian drone attacks on September 11 targeting chemical facilities deep within Russia, including the Azot chemical plant in Berezniki, Perm region.

This attack, which also resulted in fires and prompted evacuations at nearby academic institutions, underscores the escalating aerial conflict in the region.