Ukraine Strikes Russian Plant Producing Rocket Fuel for Smerch and Tornado-S

Ukrainian forces struck a Russian defense industry plant producing solid rocket fuel for multiple-launch rocket systems in Russia’s Rostov region overnight on August 16, Ukraine’s General Staff reported.

According to the General Staff on August 16, the target was the Kamensky Combine in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, a defense-industrial facility involved in supplying the Russian military. A fire was recorded on the plant’s premises following the strike, while the extent of the damage is still being assessed.

The General Staff said the facility manufactures solid rocket fuel used in ammunition for Russia’s Uragan, Smerch, and Tornado-S multiple-launch rocket systems, as well as components for other missile systems and air-launched weapons.

“The plant’s products are directly involved in meeting the needs of the Russian armed forces,” the General Staff said.

NASA’s FIRMS satellite fire-monitoring system detected a significant thermal anomaly at the facility beginning at approximately 1:14 a.m. local time on August 16. The detected heat signature remained visible and expanded through at least 2:20 a.m.

The Kamensky Combine is located roughly 10–15 kilometers (6–9 miles) from Ukraine’s internationally recognized border. According to Ukrainian OSINT project VARTA, it is one of the largest chemical enterprises in southern Russia and produces a range of military-related materials.

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Its production includes artillery ammunition, gunpowder, explosives, detonators, fuzes, primers, chemical precursors, and other components used in ammunition manufacturing. The facility also produces civilian chemical products, including plastics, synthetic resins, alcohols, phenols, and related compounds.

The strike comes a day after Ukrainian Flamingo cruise missiles targeted Russia’s Progress Rocket Space Centre in Samara, which produces Soyuz-2 launch vehicles used to deploy Russian military satellites and the Rassvet low-Earth-orbit communications network.

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