A Russian attack devastated this Ukrainian village. A year later, residents still don't know what the factory next door does
A Russian attack damaged more than 150 homes in the village of Soniachne in northern Ukraine last year, killing a local resident and leaving nine houses in ruins. A year later, residents are still rebuilding - and asking what happens at the factory just meters from their homes that appeared to be the target of the attack.
There are nine steps from Halyna Polishchuk's fence to the perimeter of the Emergy factory.
When Russian drones and missiles attacked the site on the night of Sept. 10, 2025, that distance proved fatal for her son, Vasyl.
"Here on the wall, there was so much of Vasyl's blood. And this is where he was killed," Polishchuk told hromadske, pointing toward a path between two tree trunks shattered in the attack.
Soniachne, a village in Zhytomyr Oblast, lies far from the front line. Yet in a single night, the Russian attack damaged more than 150 homes. Nine were destroyed.
A year later, the village still bears the scars.
Polishchuk has replaced her windows and doors and reinforced the walls of the house she built with money earned during 20 years working in Italy. Metal braces now run around the building to keep its damaged walls together.
Her neighbor Nadiia Rybachok said she and her son have struggled to sleep since the attack. During air raid alerts, they now seek shelter in Polishchuk's cellar.
Another resident, Valentyna Sliusarenko, suffered serious injuries when a missile struck a tree near her home. She underwent surgery on her arm and eyes. Her husband, she said, never recovered from the stress of that night and died this summer.
Across the road, Olena Kasian and her family lost almost their entire home.
They are now building a small temporary house measuring 4 by 7 meters (13 by 23 feet) beside the foundation of their former home, which was more than seven times larger.
"I'm afraid that I'm building this and, if it gets hit again, this will burn too and all my work will be lost," her husband, Mykhailo, said. "Everything we worked for our whole lives disappeared in one minute."
What is inside the factory?
For residents of Soniachne, rebuilding has been accompanied by another question: What exactly happens behind the fence of the Emergy factory?
Residents told hromadske that the facility had previously been used by a Turkish owner to manufacture doors. They believe its ownership and activities later changed, but say they have never received a clear explanation of what the factory currently does.
Corporate records reviewed by hromadske list Iryna Medar as the factory's director. Medar previously founded a company with Zhanna Rosenblat, the wife of former Ukrainian lawmaker Boryslav Rosenblat.
Rosenblat denied any connection to the factory when contacted by hromadske.
"I don't have any factory in Soniachne. I have nothing to do with it," he said before ending the call.
Residents say that before the September 2025 attack, vans and covered trucks regularly traveled to the facility.
When similar vehicles began appearing again this summer, villagers asked the local council to determine what was being transported and what, if anything, was being produced at the site.
Some residents began stopping trucks and photographing their drivers. They said the vehicles appeared heavily loaded, but drivers told them they did not know what they were carrying.
Eventually, several residents and a local police officer were allowed onto part of the factory grounds.
They said they saw no evidence of military production in the areas they were shown.
After another Russian attack in the community in August, residents returned to the factory and demanded access to a large hangar they had previously been unable to inspect.
Inside, they said they saw a large crane, a machine, empty boxes and tiles. Factory representatives told them there was no manufacturing taking place at the site and that it was being used to store tiles.
Residents remain unconvinced that they understand what happens at the facility.
"We still don't know what's at that factory," Sliusarenko said.
The local government doesn't know either
he uncertainty extends to the local authorities.
Anatolii Melnychenko, head of the Oliivka community, which includes Soniachne, told hromadske that the local council does not know what the Emergy facility produces or who ultimately owns it.
The council knows that the site is registered as the private scientific and technological enterprise Emergy and that Medar is listed as its director.
But Melnychenko said the company has never told the local government what it does - and is not legally required to do so.
"This is a private enterprise, and the village council cannot interfere in its business activities," he said.
Melnychenko said that before the September 2025 attack, local authorities had seen no reason to investigate the nature of the factory's activities.
After the attack devastated part of Soniachne, that changed.
The council contacted regional military authorities and law enforcement agencies, warning that industrial facilities that could pose security risks should not operate inside populated areas.
Asked what response the council received, Melnychenko said authorities now understood that the factory was no longer conducting "what was taking place in September 2025."
He did not specify what that activity had been.
The council's powers are limited, he said. In practice, local authorities can raise residents' concerns with regional and national authorities but cannot require a private company to disclose the nature of its operations.
Melnychenko argues that Ukrainian law should change.
In his view, defense-related production should not be located inside or close to populated areas, while communities should have greater access to information about facilities operating on their territory.
How much should residents be allowed to know?
The question becomes more complicated during wartime.
Fedіr Venislavskyi, a member of the Ukrainian parliament's National Security, Defense and Intelligence Committee, argues that information that could reveal whether a company is involved in defense production should not be publicly available.
Even indirect information in company registration data or customs declarations could help Russia identify potential targets, he told hromadske.
Venislavskyi also rejected the idea that the presence of particular businesses is itself responsible for Russian attacks.
"The main issue isn't that some enterprise is doing something on the territory of a community," he said. "The issue is that Russia does not choose lawful military targets and attacks everything indiscriminately."
He said facilities containing explosives or ammunition are already prohibited from operating inside populated areas.
But forcing other private companies to relocate would raise another problem: the state would have to cover the costs of moving them, he said.
For residents of places such as Soniachne, that leaves a difficult balance.
Information about sensitive industries can help Russia identify targets. But people living beside facilities they fear could attract Russian attacks want to understand the risks around their homes.
Local governments, meanwhile, may have responsibility for helping residents after an attack without having the authority to obtain information about the businesses operating within their communities.
Preparing for the next attack
For now, the community is focusing on measures it can control.
A modern shelter between Soniachne and nearby Oliivka has running water, sanitation, a children's area, a generator and facilities for people with disabilities.
Residents increasingly use it during air raid alerts, particularly after further Russian attacks in the area.
Schools and kindergartens in the community also have equipped shelters, allowing children to continue attending classes in person.
Melnychenko said supporting Ukraine's military remains the community's first line of defense. He also suggested that communities and businesses could invest in electronic warfare systems, while private companies are now permitted to establish their own air defense units.
When pressed for details, however, the former military officer declined to elaborate.
Meanwhile, reconstruction in Soniachne continues.
Residents whose homes were damaged received state compensation through Ukraine's eVidnovlennia reconstruction program, supplemented by payments and construction materials from local and regional authorities.
But residents say compensation is being consumed by the high cost of construction materials and a severe shortage of workers.
A year after the attack, some families are preparing to spend a second winter in homes that have still not been fully repaired.
The local council also asked Emergy to provide financial assistance to residents whose homes were damaged.
The company declined, saying it had done nothing in the village that could have caused the destruction, according to Melnychenko.
Venislavskyi said businesses cannot legally be required to compensate residents for homes damaged in Russian attacks.
The responsibility for the destruction, he said, lies with Russia.
This article was produced with the support of Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine, a multi-donor initiative funded by the governments of the United Kingdom, Estonia, Canada, Norway, Finland, Switzerland and Sweden. The program aims to strengthen Ukraine's resilience amid Russian aggression by providing critical support to communities in cooperation with Ukrainian state institutions, civil society, media and the private sector.