New buildings and infrastructure are being constructed on the grounds of the Biysk Oleum Plant named after Sverdlov, reports Reuters, citing satellite images, a source, and government procurement data. The cost of building the new infrastructure is at least 15.5 billion rubles per year, with funding allocated from a special state fund.
Moscow's ability to produce more shells than Ukraine has played an important role in Russia's successes on the battlefield during the conflict, which has been primarily fought with large guns and drones. However, Moscow has to import a huge number of shells from North Korea, and its own ammunition stocks, according to the US and Ukraine, are dwindling.
The evidence found by Reuters indicates that the plant will establish the production of RDX — an explosive that is not currently produced. The plant itself is located three thousand kilometers from Moscow, making it unreachable for most Ukrainian strike drones targeting the Russian arms industry. RDX can have civilian applications, including in mining and construction. However, documents point to a military operation. Specifically, the construction of the new facility is overseen by a state defense company, and the leading contractor is a division of the Ministry of Defense, according to the documents. RDX is a component of many artillery shells, mortar mines, rockets, and aerial bombs.
According to the design contract project, which was posted on the government procurement website in 2023 and then removed, the new facility was supposed to produce 6,000 tons of explosives per year, with construction planned to be completed this year.
According to Reuters calculations, based on scientific literature and confirmed by another explosives expert, the production capacity would be sufficient, for example, to fill the warheads of 1.28 million Russian OF-29 artillery shells, common long-range shells with a diameter of 152 mm.
In 2024, Russia produced about 2 million artillery shells of 122 mm and 152 mm caliber, the agency was told by the Ukrainian military intelligence directorate. According to the GUR, it also imported about 2.7 million from North Korea, although the North Korean shells were mostly of low quality.
Photo: Reuters