Ukrainian forces hit gas processing and helium plants near Orenburg – General Staff
Ukrainian forces struck a gas processing plant and Russia’s only helium plant near Orenburg overnight into Wednesday, more than 1,200 kilometers from the line of combat, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported.
The targets were the Orenburg Gas Processing Plant and the Orenburg Helium Plant, which together form a single industrial complex near the Russian city. Fires were recorded on the grounds of the facilities after the strikes.
According to the Ukrainian military, the gas processing plant separates purified natural gas and sulfur, which is used, among other things, to make explosives and black powder.
The helium plant then takes in the purified sulfur-free gas and, through deep cooling, extracts valuable components including helium and ethane. The General Staff said those materials are used in liquid-fueled rocket engines and guidance systems, as well as for aviation and solid rocket propellants and powders.
The Orenburg Gas Processing Plant is one of the world’s largest gas-chemical complexes. It was commissioned in 1974 and built with the participation of foreign specialists. The facility has an annual capacity of 45 billion cubic meters of gas and accounts for 60% of all gas processed by Gazprom Pererabotka, the General Staff said.
The Ukrainian military also reported other Russian losses, including:
- an FPV drone warehouse near Alekseyevka in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast;
- Russian drone control centers in the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kursk and Belgorod oblasts;
- two buildings at the Vladimir space communications center in Russia’s Vladimir Oblast;
- two Russian uncrewed surface vessels in the Black Sea on June 23.
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