Huge Explosion at Military-Linked Factory Rocks Russian Capital

An explosion at a factory linked to Russia's military complex has sent a mushroom cloud into the sky in the Moscow region.

The blast at the Zagorsk optical mechanical plant in the city of Sergiev Posad around 45 miles northeast of the Russian capital took place at around 10:45 a.m. local time (3:45 a.m. ET) Wednesday.

The plant, which was founded in 1935, is referred to as "ZOMZ," and produces night-vision devices and binoculars for the Russian military as part of the country's defense conglomerate Rostec.

Social media users shared dramatic footage of smoke billowing into the sky, filmed from different parts of the city.

The administration in the city ordered all plant buildings and workshops to be evacuated and said that a lot of windows in the area had been blown out.

Russian media reported that a warehouse had been destroyed and a fire was blazing at the site over an area of 500 square feet.

The governor of the Moscow Region, Andrey Vorobyov, said that at least 49 people were injured. Russia's Health Ministry said that three people had been pulled from under rubble and were in a serious condition.

No cause for the incident has yet been given, although it comes on the heels of a number of high-profile Ukrainian strikes on Russian targets, including drone attacks on vessels in the Black Sea and buildings in Moscow.

Since the start of Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion, sabotage attacks along with mysterious explosions and fires have been reported across Russia.

There were witness claims that the blast was caused by a drone. However, Russia's emergency services dismissed this, saying instead it was due to "a violation of a technological process," the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

There are differing accounts of where exactly the explosion occurred. State news agency Tass reported that the blast took place in a warehouse storing pyrotechnic products, while there were other claims that the blast took place in a room where metal pipes were stored.

Russia's Investigative Committee, which Newsweek has contacted for comment, said it has opened a case looking into the "violation of industrial safety requirements for hazardous production facilities."

Kyiv has not commented on the blast, but Ukrainian internal affairs adviser Anton Gerashchenko shared footage of the blast's aftermath, writing on X, formerly Twitter, that the plant is part of the Rostech and "is a leading developer and manufacturer of military optics."

"In 2022, they bragged about developing a new binocular for the Russian Navy," he added.

Update 08/09/23, 7 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with further information.