Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) attacked a large Russian steel plant overnight, causing a major fire, a source from Kiev said today, on the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reports.
The governor of the Russian region of Lipetsk said that it is a factory in the city of Lipetsk, which is located about 400 km north of the Ukrainian border, and where 18 percent of Russian steel is produced.
He said that the fire, which was apparently caused by a drone strike, was extinguished at the factory, which is managed by the Russian steel producer company "Novolipeck" (NLMK), and that there were no casualties.
A Ukrainian source told Reuters that the attack, a joint operation by the GUR military intelligence service and the SBU security service, caused a large fire and that personnel were evacuated.
"Raw materials from this company are used for the production of Russian missiles, artillery, drones. Therefore, it is a legitimate goal for Ukraine," the source said, without specifying the location of the factory.
NLMK said in October 2022 that its Russian operations are unable to produce military-grade heavy steel and that they do not supply goods for the military, only rolled steel strips for general civilian use.
A video posted on social media purported to be from Lipeck showed the explosion, with orange flames lighting up the night sky.
NLMK announced on social media that the fire broke out at 1:40 am.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Production at the factory has been suspended while an investigation team works at the site, a source familiar with the matter said. Visible damage is not significant, the source added.
Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian military and industrial targets have become more frequent in recent months, particularly hitting oil facilities that Kiev says are vital to Russia's war effort, but Ukrainian sources have not previously claimed responsibility for the attack on the steel plant.
Russian authorities said Ukrainian drones were shot down over Lipetsk, Kursk and Tula regions overnight.
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