Overnight into February 24, a fire broke out on the territory of the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant in the Lipetsk Oblast of the terrorist country of the russian federation. Governor Igor Artamonov reported that one of the shops caught fire. Prior to this, the region was attacked by drones. According to the russian ministry of defense, air defense equipment intercepted two drones.
Artamonov noted that the fall of the drone was probably the cause of the fire - now this information is being checked by the special services, which are also looking for the "primary source of the video" that appeared on social networks. The fire at the plant was extinguished, no one was injured, there is no threat of release of dangerous substances, he added.
The plant itself stated that around 01:40 a.m. "an explosion occurred" on the territory of the coke-chemical production facility.
"The fire on an area of 2 square meters was promptly localized. The causes of the incident are being clarified." They also claim that no one was affected by the fire, but the workers of the plant informed Ostorozhno, Novosti [Caution, News] about one injured.
According to eyewitnesses, before the fire, the sound of a flying drone was heard in the sky, and then explosions rang out. The blow fell on the coking shop, where the refrigeration units are located, and the open coal storage caught fire, Baza writes. A former employee of the plant told VChK-OGPU that the drone got into the agglomeration and ore preparation workshop. During the attack, the workers were taken to shelter.
The strike on the plant was a special operation of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, RBC-Ukraine sources reported. According to them, the drones got to the installations designed for the primary cooling of raw coke gas, which paralyzes the entire production process for a long time.
The Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant is the largest steel mill in the russian federation. It produces about 20% of all russian steel. Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the plant has supplied steel to at least eight russian companies specializing in the production of weapons, including anti-aircraft and intercontinental ballistic missiles, writes The Times with reference to data from the state procurement website. For 9 months of 2023, the plant’s turnover amounted to RUB 524.8 billion, net profit - RUB 182.1 billion.
The main owner of the plant, Vladimir Lisin, has been among the top 3 richest russians for the past seven years. At this time, his fortune is estimated at USD 22.1 billion. After the start of the war in Ukraine, only Australia imposed sanctions against him.
Who we are: About us, Contacts. How we write news and our principles: Editorial code. We did our best. If you found this valuable – please support us.
To request a correction, please send an email.