As of: February 17, 2024, 8:52 p.m
By: Laura May
Comments
Press
Split
The picture is said to show the explosion at a Roskosmos facility in Biysk.
© Screenshot/Telegram/Siberian Express
A column of white smoke over an industrial plant in Russia is causing speculation.
The mayor of Biysk tries to calm things down, but other authorities remain silent.
Biysk – Videos of an alleged explosion at a Russian industrial plant are causing speculation.
You can see a column of white smoke rising into the sky.
The images are said to be images of an industrial facility belonging to the Russian space agency Roscosmos in the southern Siberian city of Biyrsk.
The information cannot be independently verified.
Nor is there any connection to the war in Ukraine.
Viktor Shchygrev, mayor of Biyrsk, said in a Telegram post on Thursday (February 15), according to
Newsweek
, that although many residents had heard a bang in the industrial zone, there was "no reason to worry." a “technological process”.
He did not provide any further details.
Production of ammunition and explosives at the facility
Russian sources told
Sibirsky Express
on the Telegram short message service that the explosion occurred on the premises of the Federal Research and Production Center (FRPC) - a Roscosmos headquarters sanctioned by the EU, the USA, Japan and Ukraine.
The plant will produce, among other things, ammunition, solid charges for rocket engines and explosives for industrial purposes.
Research into weapons is also said to have taken place on the site.
The research center describes its work as “creating and developing new technologies at the level of global standards”.
The plant is also said to have manufactured products that Moscow uses in the war against Ukraine.
Putin has not yet commented on the incident
There is debate online about the authenticity of the videos.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has not yet commented on the incident.
If the industrial facility were destroyed, it would be a bitter blow.
In recent weeks, Putin has repeatedly emphasized the value of such facilities and Russian weapons production for Russia's success in Ukraine.