Ukraine’s General Staff said that during the night of June 24, 2026, Ukraine attacked the Orenburg Gas Processing Plant and the helium plant that forms a single industrial complex with it. Orenburg is located more than 1,200 kilometers from the front line.
According to the Ukrainian military, a major fire broke out at the site. The General Staff said that
the extent of the damage is being clarified. The Ukrainian monitoring channel Supernova+ reported at least three separate fire locations.
Orenburg Region governor Yevgeny Solntsev said on Telegram that several drones had been shot down over an industrial facility in Orenburg. He gave no details about the consequences. The regional government, however, said that no harmful emissions had been detected.
The Orenburg plant is described as one of the world’s largest gas-chemical complexes. Its capacity is 37.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The facility was commissioned in 1974, and its first director was Viktor Chernomyrdin, who later became Russia’s prime minister.
The Orenburg helium plant, the report says, remains the only major helium producer in Russia and Europe. It accounts for up to 80% of Russia’s ethane output, a feedstock used to make ethylene, plastics, rubber, and other chemical products. The facility had already come under a Ukrainian attack in 2025.
Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces press service said the strike was carried out in coordination with Black Spark, a movement operating inside Russia. Little is known about the group: on its website, it describes itself as a resistance movement seeking armed opposition to dictatorship, an end to the war, and the collapse of the empire. Its only public representative is identified as former Gazprombank vice president Igor Volobuyev, who is now serving in the Ukrainian armed forces.