According to various media sources, including internal sources in Russia, one of the largest local steel producers, NLMK, has been once again attacked by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The previous attack occurred at the end of February this year.
Media states that two UAVs, launched overnight on April 24 against Russian territory, damaged NLMK’s oxygen station and two blocks have been stopped due to the damage caused. The facility is supposed to supply the necessary volumes of oxygen for undisrupted steel production. “There has been an attempt to hit the industrial infrastructure of Lipetsk, with no threat to the residential areas,” a local governor in Russia said. Previously, NLMK was attacked by UAVs on February 24 this year, with the mill’s coke battery hit, though no significant production disruption was reported.
NLMK is one of the three top steel producing groups in Russia, along with Severstal and MMK, and remains the only flats producer in the country not yet sanctioned by Europe or the US. The company has been mainly trading slabs lately, primarily to Europe, Turkey and Latin America, while flats shipments have been mainly focused on the domestic market.