Plant manufacturing engines for military equipment on fire in Russia's Chelyabinsk

A fire broke out at the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant, which is under Ukrainian and US sanctions as a manufacturer of engines for military equipment.

Source: Russian Telegram channels; Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation; The Moscow Times

Details: Baza, a Russian Telegram channel, reported that witnesses said they heard an explosion before the fire broke out and saw a large column of fire rise above the plant.

Early reports indicate that the fire broke out at the plant’s transformer station.

Mash, another Russian Telegram channel, said that a transformer exploded, which could cause issues with power supply in Chelyabinsk. Emergency workers were deployed to the site of the incident. There is no information about casualties.

There is no power in some residential buildings.

"Residents of other apartment buildings were more lucky: they only had power cut off for 15 minutes, and then they had their power restored. At least eight appliances were brought to the site of the incident," Mash reported.

The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said that fire at the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant has been extinguished.

"An oil transformer was on fire, with fire spreading over an area of 40 square metres," the ministry’s report read.

Meanwhile, The Moscow Times reported that the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant is the main supplier for the Uralvagonzavod enterprises: Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant engines of various capacities are used to power T-72 and T-90 Proryv (Breakthrough) tanks, Terminator armoured personnel carriers, and Akatsia (Acacia), Msta-S, and Koalitsiya (Coalition)-SV artillery systems.

In 2023, the plant became subject to US and Ukrainian sanctions as an "enterprise specialising in the production of diesel engines for military equipment for the needs of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation".

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