Reuters intelligence source reports drone damage to Novolipetsk plant during night attack

Ukrainian drones damaged a major Russian steel plant in the Lipetsk region during a night attack on Wednesday.

Source. Reuters reports this with reference to a source in Kyiv's intelligence service.

The source said that the attack partially destroyed the "oxygen station" at Novolipetsk Steel, which, according to him, will have a long-term impact on the company's operations.

A source in Kyiv said that the nighttime attack was carried out by Ukraine's military intelligence service, the GUR.

NLMK declined to comment and said that the plant continues to operate normally.

Earlier, the governor of the Lipetsk region said that a Ukrainian drone had crashed in an industrial area at night, but did not say whether there was any damage.

The Astra telegram channel reported, citing local residents, that the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant, one of the largest in Russia, was attacked.

Ukrainian drones already attacked NLMK in February this year. At the time, a BBC source in the Ukrainian security services said that the operation was organised by the SBU and the GUR, and called the company a legitimate target because it works for the military-industrial complex.

In addition to the metallurgical plant, two oil storage facilities owned by Rosneft were targeted by drones in Russia's Smolensk region overnight, an intelligence source told Reuters.

Background. As reported, Russia's largest mining and processing holding, Norilsk Nickel, will move its plant to China to circumvent sanctions. The decision was influenced by the new US and UK sanctions, which led many customers to refuse the company's metals.