A drone attacked a large metallurgical plant belonging to steelmaker Severstal in the Russian city of Cherepovets, Vologda oblast.

The company’s press service reported on this.

The drone attacked the target at about 5:40 a.m. and hit blast furnace No. 4.

Initially, the drone’s involvement in the explosion was denied by the Russians, with the plant’s management citing a technical incident and the shutdown of one of the units for scheduled repairs.

Later, the acting governor of the Vologda oblast, Georgy Filimonov, confirmed that the explosion was caused by a drone.

He added that the operation of the furnace has not been disrupted, and the company continues to operate.

Videos of eyewitnesses and CCTV cameras at the Severstal plant have been posted online, clearly showing a powerful explosion and smoke in the building, most likely as a result of the collapse of part of the roof.

Severstal is one of the largest steel producers in the Russian Federation. It is located about 800 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

On March 6, 2024, it was reported that drones struck a fuel and lubricants warehouse and a mining and processing plant in the Kursk oblast.

Following the drone attack, a fire broke out at the fuel and lubricants warehouse in the Zheleznogorsky district.

The Mikhailovsky Mining and Processing Plant in Zheleznogorsk also got on fire.

Drones attacked the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant in Russia. At the same time, at night, residents of the region reported hearing explosions near Lipetsk, from the direction of a metallurgical plant, preceded by the hum of a drone in the sky.