In September 2026, the tobacco factory of Japan Tobacco International (JTI) in Kremenchuk, Poltava region, was struck twice by enemy attacks. This was confirmed to RBC-Ukraine by JTI Ukraine in response to a request. At the time of publication, the facility is not operating: management suspended production processes even before the first attacks, and the plant remains closed. The company emphasized that no employees were injured as a result of the strikes.
Two strikes in a month and refusal to provide details
For security reasons, JTI Ukraine declined to clarify whether a direct hit was recorded on the night of September 22, 2026, as announced by the Russian Ministry of Defense today. The Kremlin and the Russian Defense Ministry reported in their daily briefings about a "massive strike" on metallurgy, chemical industry, and port infrastructure facilities in Ukraine, with the Kremenchuk tobacco factory among the listed targets. However, independent confirmation of specific coordinates and the scale of damage from the Ukrainian side had not been received as of publication.
Contradictory data
The key discrepancy between the two versions concerns the purpose of the facility. The Russian Defense Ministry, in its statements (including in materials cited by news agencies), claims that the Kremenchuk factory was allegedly involved in the production of ammunition and weapons. JTI Ukraine categorically refutes this version: "The Kremenchuk factory produces exclusively tobacco products. JTI manufactures and sells tobacco products and has never been involved in military production," the company stated. Thus, the Russian side's claims about the "military nature" of the target are not confirmed by any independent source and are directly refuted by the owner of the facility. An additional inconsistency: JTI confirmed two strikes in September overall, but neither confirmed nor denied a hit specifically on the night of September 22, while the Russian Defense Ministry dates the strike to that very night.
Context: a series of attacks on industry
The strikes on JTI's Kremenchuk factory are not an isolated incident. Earlier, on the night of August 5, 2026, Russian troops destroyed warehouses storing JTI products. On September 7, a similar strike was carried out on the British American Tobacco factory in Pryluky, Chernihiv region, as a result of which this enterprise was also forced to suspend operations. The series of attacks on tobacco and related industry facilities points to a deliberate strategy of striking the civilian industrial sector, which, according to experts, may be linked both to an attempt to destabilize the economy and to the use of a "military justification" for strikes on civilian infrastructure.
About JTI Ukraine
JTI Ukraine is one of the largest tobacco product manufacturers in the country. The company has been operating in the Ukrainian market since 1999 and is part of the international Japan Tobacco International group. Among the main brands represented on the market are Winston, Camel, Glamour, Sobranie, and LD. In 2024, the company launched the Ploom ecosystem for heated tobacco products in Ukraine. Operationally, JTI Ukraine is represented by two legal entities: JSC "JTI Company Ukraine" (head office and regional offices) and PJSC "JTI Ukraine," which directly owns the factory in Kremenchuk.
