A large explosion lit up the night sky on February 7 near Votkinsk, a city about 1,000 kilometers east of Moscow that is the location of a Russian military production facility.
Residents of Votkinsk reported that a powerful explosion had occurred near the city and posted videos on social media showing high flames and a massive yellow glow over the horizon.
Further messages said the explosion occurred at the Votkinsk Machine-Building Plant, which produces some of the Russian military's most sophisticated missiles, including the types it has used against Ukraine.
The explosion was also reported by TASS, which quoted the emergency services agency as saying there had been a “scheduled test of rocket engines” at the plant.
“This is not an emergency, [but] a planned [event],” a spokesman for the Ministry of Emergency Situations, was quoted as saying by the Russian state media outlet.
But there was no indication of a planned test at the ministry’s website.
There are no details about casualties.
At the end of 2023, the Votkinsk plant published 19 government contracts for the production of nuclear weapons components. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the plant in 2011 while serving as prime minister. A post on the Kremlin website at that time said the plant had 23 shops for “special purpose manufacturing” and employed 250 people.
The Votkinsk plant is located 50 kilometers from Izhevsk, the capital of the Udmurtia region. It makes sections and warhead platforms for Topol-M, Yars, and Bulava missile systems as well as bodies for Iskander missiles, according to the Kremlin website.
“Your plant is one of the leading enterprises in Russia's defense industry,” Putin said at the time of his visit in 2011.
“Everyone knows -- and especially you -- that the Votkinsk plant is one of the key enterprises in Russia's defense industry. And it will receive a large order under the new state armaments program."