Artamonov said the guard worked at one of the enterprises hit, while the paramedic sustained a hip wound and was hospitalized. Other workers were evacuated, he said.
The governor did not name the facility struck. The outlet ASTRA, citing photographs taken by eyewitnesses, identified it as the Energiya plant. Ukrainian monitoring Telegram channels reported that cruise missiles struck the enterprise and published footage of a fire over the city.
PJSC Energiya is one of Russia's largest manufacturers of chemical power sources. The plant produces batteries and accumulators for drones, missile systems and other military equipment. A database maintained by Ukrainian military intelligence states that it supplies 9B280-1 power cells for the 9M727 cruise missile of the Iskander-K system, 9B283 thermal batteries for the Iskander-M, power sources for the Zircon missiles and onboard batteries for the Kinzhal missiles.
The enterprise is under sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Australia and Ukraine. According to The Insider, its shareholders include Vladimir Serikov, chairman of the Lipetsk Regional Council of Deputies, who represents United Russia.
The plant's revenue grew almost ninefold, from 2.54 billion rubles in 2021 to about 22.6 billion rubles in 2025, The Insider calculated from published financial data. Open data do not show what share of the growth is tied to military orders.
Energiya has been targeted before. In May 2025 the plant came under two attacks in a row, and satellite imagery showed damage to the roof of one of its workshops. In July of that year drones struck the enterprise again, and the governor reported one injured person at the time. On the evening of January 4, 2026, the industrial zone of Yelets was attacked once more, with monitoring channels reporting hits on Energiya workshops.
Ukrainian forces have also used cruise missiles, according to numerous reports, in a strike on the Proton plant in Oryol on October 23. By Sunday the death toll from that attack had risen to four, said Andrei Klychkov, governor of the Oryol Region.