Regional Governor Dmitry Makhonin wrote on Telegram that “an enemy drone struck one of the industrial sites in the Perm Territory,” adding that employees were in protective shelters, there were no injuries or significant damage, and there was no chemical hazard or threat to residents.
He said emergency services were on the scene and that “Unmanned Danger” and “Carpet” regimes remained in effect.
Astra also reported that universities in Perm canceled classes due to the attack. The Higher School of Economics in Perm and the Perm branch of Plekhanov Russian State University switched to distance learning, and classes were also canceled at Perm State National Research University.
In the early hours of April 30, Ukrainian drones also struck Dzerzhinsk in the Nizhny Novgorod region, according to local residents cited by the Russian outlet Shot. Residents reported hearing around 10 explosions in different parts of the city, with further blasts heard in the southern and central areas of Kstovo. Regional authorities have not officially comment.
According to Astra’s analysis of eyewitness footage, the target in Dzerzhinsk was the Sverdlov Plant. A column of smoke was seen rising above the facility following the strike.
The Sverdlov Plant is one of Russia’s largest producers of explosives, with a history of more than 100 years. It is part of the country’s military-industrial complex and holds strategic importance.
The plant is included in Kyiv’s sanctions list “for supporting actions that undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.” It has also been sanctioned by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Switzerland.
Ukrainian drones have previously targeted the facility. In October 2024, one of its workshops was damaged in a strike.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, overnight air defenses “intercepted and destroyed” 189 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions.
However, Ukraine has not officially commented on the latest strikes.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian drones struck two Russian cities – Orsk and Perm – hitting an oil refinery and a key pipeline facility.
Orsk, located about 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) from the Ukrainian border, was targeted in a strike confirmed by OSINT analysts from Astra. They reported that the Orsknefteorgsintez refinery – one of Russia’s largest, processing 5–6 million tons of oil annually – was hit.
In the Perm region, Governor Makhonin said a drone struck an industrial site in the Perm municipal district. Workers were evacuated, and no injuries were reported, though a fire broke out.
According to OSINT analysis cited by Exilenova+, the fire occurred at the Perm LPDS – a critical node in the Transneft system responsible for pumping, storing, and distributing oil through trunk pipelines. The facility supplies crude to regional refineries and links to export routes via ports including Primorsk, Ust-Luga, Novorossiysk, and Tuapse.
The channel also reported “oil rain” in parts of Perm, similar to earlier incidents in Tuapse.
President Volodymyr Zelensky later published footage from Perm, effectively confirming Ukraine’s involvement. He said he had received a report from the acting Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) head, Major General Yevhen Khmara, describing the strikes as part of “Ukrainian long-range sanctions” – a new phase in efforts to degrade Russia’s war capacity.
“These are fair Ukrainian responses to Russian terror,” Zelensky said, adding that the strikes target Russia’s military production, logistics, and oil export infrastructure.
He also called for a shift toward diplomacy, saying Moscow “must hear this signal.”
SBU later confirmed the strike on the Perm facility, stating that its Alpha Special Operations Center targeted the linear production and dispatching station located more than 1,500 kilometers from the border.
According to preliminary reports, the drone strike triggered a large-scale fire, with most oil storage tanks reportedly burning.
