A major fire erupted in the Russian city of Cheboksary following a reported missile attack that may have targeted a key defense industry facility.

Oleg Nikolayev, head of Russia’s Chuvash Republic, confirmed that the city had come under a missile attack. While the extent of the damage has not been disclosed, images and videos shared on Russian Telegram channels showed flames and smoke rising from the area after the strike, The Caspian Post reports via Ukrainska Pravda.

Open-source intelligence analysts identified the likely target as the VNIIR-Progress defense plant, a facility involved in Russia’s military-industrial sector.

The reported attack comes just weeks after the same plant was hit in a previous strike on May 5, highlighting the growing vulnerability of defense-related infrastructure deep inside Russian territory.