An attack on the western Russian city of Lipetsk has raised the curtain again on a major steel plant that is not only vital to Moscow’s missile industry but has also been linked to top Russian oligarchs.
The plant is also reported to be Russia’s only producer of electrical steel and had been supplying steel to European customers during the first three years of the Ukraine-Russia war, as its products were not under sanctions.
Tu-160 Bomber. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Russian Air Force Bomber Tu-160. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
“Here is another example of how the European Union has been a financial lifeline for Russia’s military enterprises since the beginning of the war,” said a Ukrainian defense enterprise director whose company is essential to Kyiv’s missile programs.
“It’s called subsidizing the companies in Russia who make the missiles that are destroying our cities and killing our people.”
Although details of the attack are still not clear, fires had broken out at this industrial facility overnight and on into early Tuesday.
They were reported following explosions and what has been called a “possible drone attack,” according to monitoring channels in the city and surrounding region.
City residents had reported hearing the noise from the explosions and then witnessing a large fireball.
A missile air raid alert was engaged from the Monday evening hours onward, according to the independent Telegram channels Astra and Exilenova.
The Regional Governor Igor Artamonov confirmed on his Telegram account that there was a fire at local industrial facilities in the city but added that the authorities were investigating the cause and would not confirm reports of an attack.
Strategic Site
After examining videos and photos that were posted by local residents, Astra said the fire had broken out near the Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) plant and Lipetsk CHPP-2, a combined heat and power plant.
NLMK is Russia’s largest steel production site and is responsible for approximately 20 percent of the nation’s total steel output.
The attack on this facility was also not just the result of some random target selection in Kyiv.
This plant is part of a critical supply chain in Moscow’s missile industry that is building the ballistic missiles that are hitting Ukrainian cities and killing civilians daily.
NLMK is located about 250 miles from the Ukrainian border, which puts it well within the range of numerous models of attack drones that have been developed in Ukraine.
The chief reason for targeting this facility is that it supplies finished steel products to defense enterprises engaged in Russia’s missile production, according to Astra channel reports.
From the beginning of 2022 to the end of 2024, NLMK was supplying electrical steel to twenty-two enterprises within the Russian military-industrial complex for a total contracted value of at least $1.5 million.
Investigations conducted by Ukraine’s intelligence services and independent monitoring groups like Astra have revealed that NLMK is a critical supplier to numerous key Russian defense enterprises that manufacture missiles, tactical ballistic systems, and air defense systems.
Another Variant of Air Defense
NLMK claims that it is not a supplier of any military products to the Russian defense-industrial complex. However, the Ukrainian intelligence services, according to Astra’s reports, have classified the enterprise as a legitimate military target due to its business connections to the Russian defense sector.
Collectively, the Ukrainian military and security agencies have now concluded that the absence of an adequate supply of interceptor missiles for the Patriot system is a situation that will persist for the immediate future.
“The offer of the US to provide Ukraine with the blueprints so that we can build these missiles on our own is what we have been asking for for some time now,” said the same Ukrainian defense enterprise director.
“But we all know that neither surge production at the facilities currently building these missiles nor a new manufacturing center in Ukraine for these interceptors are going to impact the number of PAC-2 or PAC-3 missiles available for up to two years.”
In the interim, Ukraine needs to develop an alternate air defense strategy to defend its skies from Russian missile attacks on cities and civilian infrastructure.
Part of that strategy was outlined on the 20 July London Daily Telegraph podcast on the Ukraine war that included the analyst Michael Bohnert from the US-based RAND Corporation.
One aspect of that strategy is to carry out missions specifically like this attack on NLMK, said Bohnert in his analysis of Ukraine’s current situation. This means identifying the critical path for Russian missile production and taking out those production sites that “feed” into that part of Moscow’s defense industry.
About the Author: Reuben F. Johnson
Reuben F. Johnson has thirty-six years of experience analyzing and reporting on foreign weapons systems, defense technologies, and international arms export policy. Johnson is the Director of Research at the Casimir Pulaski Foundation. He is also a survivor of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He worked for years in the American defense industry as a foreign technology analyst and later as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Defense, the Departments of the Navy and Air Force, and the governments of the United Kingdom and Australia. In 2022-2023, he won two awards in a row for his defense reporting. He holds a bachelor’s degree from DePauw University and a master’s degree from Miami University in Ohio, specializing in Soviet and Russian studies. He lives in Warsaw.
