DIU drones strike Russia’s only rocket-grade helium factory, says source

This was reported to Ukrinform by sources in the Main Intelligence Directorate.

Local residents observed the drones flying overhead and also reported a series of explosions in the area of the plant.

At around 8 p.m., local authorities decided to close a section of the M-5 Ural federal highway near the towns of Perevolotsk and Kholodni Klyuchi (where the DIU target is located). 

The Orenburg Helium Plant is the only helium production facility in Russia and one of the largest in Europe. Its annual capacity is about 15 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

Helium is widely used in rocket manufacturing, the space industry, and the aviation industry.

The target in Orenburg, which was attacked by military intelligence, is directly involved in Russia's aggression against Ukraine and is one of the key objects of the Russian military-industrial complex, the Main Intelligence Directorate emphasized.

As reported by Ukrinform, on August 10, as a result of a special operation by the Main Intelligence Directorate, the LUKOIL-Ukhta Oil Refinery in the Republic of Komi of the Russian Federation was hit.