28 November 2025

A powerful explosion occurred at the Strategic Missile Forces base in Yasny, Orenburg Region, where the latest Avangard missile systems are stationed, sending a huge cloud of purple smoke into the sky. Ural56.Ru reports this , citing local residents.

ArbatMedia , also citing eyewitnesses, reports that the incident may have been caused by a launch accident, which, according to the publication’s sources, “disintegrated in mid-air.” There have been no official comments from federal agencies regarding the incident yet.

The Unified Dispatch Service assured Ural56.ru that no evacuation is planned, there is no threat to residents, and the maximum permissible concentration of harmful substances in the air is normal. The Orenburg regional government also confirmed that there are no evacuation plans.

The Yasny Cosmodrome is one of 11 facilities in Russia capable of launching long-range land-based missiles, including nuclear-capable missiles. In 2023, the Yasny missile unit began re-equipping with the latest Avangard silo-based missile system. Vladimir Putin previously stated that Russia’s acquisition of the Avangard “nullified” US investments in the missile defense system. Yasny also houses a launch base for Dnepr launch vehicles, which are based on the converted RS-20B and RS-20V.

The day before, on November 27, a service cabin collapsed during the launch of the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft to the ISS at the Baikonur Cosmodrome . According to The Insider, the collapse involved a movable structure beneath the launch pad. Analyst Georgy Trishkin clarified that as a result of the accident, launches of the Soyuz and Progress spacecraft could be postponed indefinitely. Space enthusiast Vitaly Egorov stated that “effectively from that day on, Russia has lost the ability to launch people into space.” Roscosmos assured that the damage would be repaired “in the near future.”

https://www.moscowtimes.ru/2025/11/28/na-baze-noveishih-yadernih-raket-rossii-pod-orenburgom-progremel-moschnii-vzriv-a181334