At least seven people were killed and ten others injured when Ukrainian drones attacked a fertilizer plant in Russia’s western Smolensk region on February 26, 2026. According to Russia’s Investigative Committee, around 30 drones targeted the facility located about 290 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The plant produces ammonium nitrate and nitric acid, chemicals used in fertilizers but also capable of being used in explosives.

Regional governor Vasily Anokhin described the incident on social media as a barbaric terrorist attack by Ukraine’s armed forces, saying the strike hit a civilian site. Rescue teams quickly reached the scene and brought the fire under control, though Anokhin did not clarify whether there was any risk of chemical contamination. As a precaution, schools in Dorogobuzh city switched to online classes, kindergartens were closed, and authorities considered evacuating nearby residents.

Ukraine has not yet commented on the attack. Earlier in the week, a Ukrainian drone strike damaged an oil pumping station in Russia’s Tatarstan Republic. The war, now in its fifth year, remains deadlocked over the Donbas region, with a new U.S.-mediated trilateral meeting expected in early March.