British intelligence expects new accidents at Russian plants

The UK Ministry of Defense reported the information.

It noted that on February 7, an explosion occurred at a Russian missile plant near Izhevsk, which was unlikely to have been caused by a UAV attack. This plant produces a number of ballistic missiles, including the Iskander, which is regularly used against Ukraine. Russian media reported that it was due to "planned tests" of rocket engines.

"It is unlikely that Ukrainian uncrewed aerial vehicles were involved in the explosion, given the 1,200 km distance from Ukraine. Furthermore, no such attacks were reported in the area," the report said.

Other recent accidents have occurred at the Kamensky chemical plant near Rostov on January 15, 2024, the Chelyabinsk tank factory on November 26, 2023, and at the gunpowder and ammunition plants in Kotovsk on November 10, 2023, and Solikamsk on October 31, 2023.

"Senior political pressure to increase the military industrial output targets to support the war in Ukraine has likely led to round-the-clock production and staff fatigue. Increased demands on production will highly likely result in greater numbers of industrial accidents in the future," the intelligence suggests.

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