Russian military plants/installations 'accidentally' catching fire

[maomao]

Well done those activists but there's a few steps between chucking a flaming bottle at an office in the night and storming the Kremlin.

 

[existentialist]

Well done those activists but there's a few steps between chucking a flaming bottle at an office in the night and storming the Kremlin.

But it's a start.

 

[Idris2002]

Well done those activists but there's a few steps between chucking a flaming bottle at an office in the night and storming the Kremlin.

If it is activists, and not the security organs preparing the ground for a crackdown on the peace movement.

 

[Indeliblelink]

Pravda reporting an explosion at Russia's largest antibiotic factory in Kurgan. Due to an excess pressure of methanol vapour according to them.

Explosion at Russia's largest antibiotic plant

The press service of the company said that there was an incident in a workshop, as a result of which part of the production building was destroyed

english.pravda.ru

Possible Bio-Weapon manufacture/research site?

Soviet biological weapons program - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

In 1953 the management of the Soviet BW programme was assigned to the USSR Ministry of Defence's Fifteenth Administration. In August 1958, the latter created a new Scientific-Research Technical Bureau (NITB) , the prime task of which was to create covert dual-use BW facilities at a number of pharmaceutical and microbiological enterprises. Over the next decade or so, dual-use BW production plants were created at Berdsk, Omutninsk, Penza and Kurgan. It is therefore apparent that previous perceptions by Western scholars of the Khrushchev era as contributing little to the development of the Soviet Union's biological warfare capabilities are incorrect. Rimmington argues that this "was in fact a pivotal period in the Soviet programme, when BW production technology was being transferred from the military to facilities concealed within civil manufacturing plants. This was later to manifest itself as a key feature of the subsequent Biopreparat programme".[23]

Actually after a bit more googling I can't see anyone claiming this company "Sintez Pharmaceuticals" is up to anything dodgy.

 

[frogwoman]

If it is activists, and not the security organs preparing the ground for a crackdown on the peace movement.

That ships already sailed tbh

 

[Indeliblelink]

Big Fire at a power station on the island of Sakhalin. It's near Japan so certainly not struck by anything from Ukraine.

 

[maomao]

Big Fire at a power station on the island of Sakhalin. It's near Japan so certainly not struck by anything from Ukraine.

That's about as far from Ukraine as it's possible to get without leaving Russia. I wonder how many industrial fires there have been in the US in the past three weeks?

 

[IC3D]

That's about as far from Ukraine as it's possible to get without leaving Russia. I wonder how many industrial fires there have been in the US in the past three weeks?

You asked

EXCLUSIVE: Food shortages magnified by string of destroyed food processing facilities

Last Thursday, firefighters contended with a massive blaze at California’s Taylor Farms plant. That same day, an airplane crashed into Idaho’s Gem State Processing facility.

westernstandardonline.com

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/04/north-carolina-fertilizer-plant-fire-explosion-evacuation

Ammonia explosion risk at California food plant fire prompts evacuations

‘Fire progressed to the point that it poses a significant risk for a potential explosion of ammonia that is located in the plant,’ deputy fire chief says

www.google.com

 

[Cid]

I'm guessing plenty of Russian facilities don't have brilliant safety procedures at the best of times, and are probably getting hit by a combination of ramped up demand, difficulty in getting key supplies in, and general stress in workers.

Just googling where Kurgan is, there also seem to be ongoing wildfires.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

It's certainly possible that it's anti-war activists in Russia, but the coordination/timing and the value of the targets suggest military planning. I think it's more likely the work of long-range Ukrainian missiles, the stuff in Bryansk at least. Entirely plausible that there are Ukrainian special forces behind enemy lines too. If these are "civilian" anti-war activists in Russia, they certainly know what they're doing

They're not mutually exclusive, 'civilian' anti-war activists and military training.

Some ex-military types subsequently become quite anti-war, anti-arms trade. Having been at risk of being deployed or actually being deployed, having mates injured and/or killed in senseless wars can make people start to re-evaluate wtf they signed up for and/or what they were involved in and become quite disillusioned with the whole military-industrial complex.

So some activists do have the skills and experience to pull off a military-style operation, with military planning, logistics and precision.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

These were a few days ago and definately not "accidental".

5 Russian Enlistment Offices Hit By Arson Attacks – Reports - The Moscow Times

As many as five Russian military enlistment offices have been set on fire since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, independent Russian media reported Thursday.

www.themoscowtimes.com

If you were a young lad in Smalltown or Backwatersville Russia, at risk of conscription and being deployed to Ukraine, wouldn't you be tempted?

 

[cupid_stunt]

This one looks like Ukrainian action.

Parts of an oil terminal and adjacent territory have been hit by shells in Russia’s Bryansk region on Saturday, according to reports in Russian state media, which cited the region’s governor.

The incident happened after Moscow’s air defences prevented a Ukrainian aircraft from entering the region, according to RIA news agency. Bryansk is less than 100 miles from the border with Ukraine. “There are no victims,” RIA reported, citing the governor, Alexander Bogomaz, as saying. He added that a logistics building at the terminal was damaged.

Earlier this week, large fires broke out at two oil depots in the city of Bryansk, which serves as a logistics base for Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Military analyst Rob Lee said that the fire was “probably” a result of Ukrainian sabotage, according to the footage. LINK

 

[Artaxerxes]

Suspect a number of these are hackers getting in and adjusting or muting warning alerts or adjust safety levels until things explode

 

[IC3D]

Suspect a number of these are hackers getting in and adjusting or muting warning alerts or adjust safety levels until things explode

In this case just Russia using missiles to destroy one of Europe's largest food distribution centres in Ukraine. I don't remember this being in the news here

I do wonder if this conflict is expanding rapidly now.

 

[Yossarian]

That's about as far from Ukraine as it's possible to get without leaving Russia. I wonder

Sakhalin is also the foremost underpopulated region where Ukrainians forcibly removed from Russian-occupied territories are being sent, according to Ukrainian authorities.

From a Ukrainian defense ministry statement last month: After passing the filtration camps, Ukrainians are sent to economically depressed areas of the Russian federation. A number of northern regions are mentioned as the final destination, in particular - Sakhalin. The Ukrainians are ‘offered’ official employment through employment centers. Those people, who agree, receive documents that ban them to leave Russian regions for two years.

Industrial accidents happen all the time, of course, and it seems the Russian "filtration camps" have been very thorough in "filtering" out any adult Ukrainian men with a history of military service, nationalist tattoos, pro-Ukrainian content on their phones, etc. etc.

But I wouldn't totally rule out the possibility of it being sabotage, I think I would consider setting something on fire if I was a traumatised teenager from Mariupol who was sent to Sakhalin and ordered to sweep floors in an understaffed power plant.

 

[maomao]

I know what I would probably do if I was a traumatised teenager from Mariupol who was sent to Sakhalin and ordered to sweep floors in an understaffed power plant.

What? Try to get high on any solvents you'd been trusted with then spend the afternoon hiding in the loos wanking?

 

[Yossarian]

What? Try to get high on any solvents you'd been trusted with then spend the afternoon hiding in the loos wanking?

Of course, then I'd try to smoke one of the cigarettes I'd stolen from that cunt Oleg the supervisor, but it'd take shitloads of shitty Russian matches to get a light and I'd drop some of the smouldering failures into the pool of solvents from the bottle I'd accidentally knocked over, starting a fire that wasn't detected in time because the batteries in the smoke detector were stolen in 2015 and not replaced.

Surprised I even have to spell out this sequence of events, tbh.

 

[platinumsage]

According to the Governor of the region “a fire broke out” at an ammunition depot. Whoops oh dear nevermind.

 

[spitfire]

Bridge fell over.

 

[strung out]

Bridge fell over.

Tweet has been deleted, but it's been confirmed as sabotage by the governor of the region now.

 

[maomao]

Tweet has been deleted, but it's been confirmed as sabotage by the governor of the region now.

It's only missing a bit of brickwork, the track's not damaged. If they drive fast they'll get away with it.

 

[spitfire]

Account here that is attempting to list all the "accidents".

 

[Indeliblelink]

 

[frogwoman]

How much of this could be accounted for by Russia no longer being able to get the parts it needs to service stuff because of sanctions?

 

[Dystopiary]

Fire in Perm at a gunpowder factory. Two reported dead, one injured.

Confirmed by Russian state media now.

 

[platinumsage]

Iran blamed the weather for a spate of similar fires last year:

Steel-Plant Fire in Iran Is Latest in Spate of Incidents

www.bloomberg.com

 

[likesfish]

Tbf any russian activist offering military planning and logistics expertise should be avoided because everything on fire and anything not nailed down being stolen won't help.

 

[Dogsauce]

Fire in Perm at a gunpowder factory. Two reported dead, one injured.


Confirmed by Russian state media now.

That’s a long way from the Ukrainian border in the Ural Mountains, but a very good target, a shortage or rockets will save a lot of lives.

I’m beginning to believe the loon speculation that the US is using a giant space laser to do this kind of thing. Maybe they’re pointing one end of the Hubble telescope at the sun, the other end at Russian fuel and munitions depots.

 

[Artaxerxes]

How much of this could be accounted for by Russia no longer being able to get the parts it needs to service stuff because of sanctions?

It's going to be a whole mix of things, starting with negligence and working up to outright sabotage

 

[frogwoman]

It's going to be a whole mix of things, starting with negligence and working up to outright sabotage

Would stuff really stop working in such short order? I guess if health and safety isn't top of the list it probably would