Ukrainian drone strikes cause large fire at Russian steel plant on second anniversary of war
A fire at the Novolipetsk (NLMK) steel plant.
The second anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war saw a major Russian steel factory hit by Ukrainian drones on Saturday (Feb 24). The attack happened overnight, causing a large fire. The attack, which took place in the city of Lipetsk, some 400 km (250 miles) north of the Ukrainian border, wasconfirmed by the governor of Russia's Lipetsk region,
The said Russian steel factory is responsible for 18 per cent of the country’s total output.
The governor said a fire was caused by a drone strike which was extinguished and there were no causalities. The plant is reportedly operated by Russian steelmaker Novolipetsk (NLMK).
"There is no significant impact on the plant's operations," the governor added on Saturday night.
Ukrainian forces were quoted as saying by Reuters that the attack was carried out by GUR military intelligence and the SBU security service. They also claimed that the fire caused the full evacuation of the plant, reflecting the severity of the attack.
"Raw materials from this enterprise are used to manufacture Russian missiles, artillery, and drones. Therefore, it is a legitimate goal for Ukraine," the source said, without specifying the location of the plant.
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Some videos of the incident also appeared on social media, showing an explosion, with orange flames illuminating the nighttime sky.
NLMK said the fire broke out at 1:40 am local time and was brought under control soon after.
Ukrainian drone strikes well within Russian territories have become common, targeting Russian naval assets as well as key oil facilities and factories.
Despite Ukrainian sources having provided details of the attack to the media, Kyiv has refrained from taking responsibility ofthe strikes.
Meanwhile, Russia said several Ukrainian drones were downed over the Lipetsk, Kursk and Tula regions overnight.
Despite Ukrainian claims, NLMK maintains the steel factory doesn’t contribute to Moscow’s war.
NLMK said in October 2022 that its Russian operations were not capable of producing military-grade heavy steel and did not supply goods to the military.
(With inputs from agencies)