Baking soda by day, armor chemistry on contract: drones reportedly strike Russia’s Bashkir Soda Company
The plant, which Russian Telegram channel Astra says sits on a closed register of defense suppliers, is the country’s only producer of a chemical used in bulletproof fibers.
On 29 October 2026, drones launched from Ukraine struck Sterlitamak, a city in Russia's Bashkortostan region. Smoke was seen rising over the Bashkir Soda Company, which is the country's largest producer of soda ash and baking soda and the sole producer of terephthaloyl chloride, a compound used in aramid fibers like Kevlar. Astra, an open-source analysis channel, reported the attack, citing satellite imagery and testimony from the company and city officials.
Mayor of Sterlitamak, Emil Shaimardanov, stated that air defenses had downed all seven drones. However, his post initially mentioned eight, and the city's mayor later clarified that it was one of the enterprises that suffered minor damage. The plant was not specified.
The drone strikes come as Ukraine continues to target various industries crucial to Russia's war efforts. In the past five days, targets have included a nitric acid maker in Tula Oblast, a rocket-fuel rubber plant in Samara Oblast, and a titanium plant in the Urals. Ukraine has not publicly commented on the attacks.
The Bashkir Soda Company sits on Russia's list of defense enterprises maintained by the Industry and Trade Ministry, according to The Insider. The company's website mentions deliveries to the defense sector. Despite the attack, the company is operating normally, according to Shaimardanov. NASA's FIRMS fire map confirmed a fire at the plant shortly after the strikes, although the heat signature was consistent with past readings.
Russia's aviation agency restricted flights in the Volgograd region following the attack, and Pro-Ukrainian X accounts suggested that Syntez-Kauchuk JSC, another plant in the area, might have been the target. A fire was also reported at the Marinovka military airfield in Volgograd Oblast.
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