One worker was killed and several others were injured when the Avdiyivka coke plant, which belongs to Ukraine's largest steelmaker Metinvest, came under heavy artillery fire on Feb. 4.
The enterprise’s equipment was also damaged in the attack.
“There were people in the plant’s workshops at the time of shelling. One employee was killed and several others sustained different injuries. All injured persons were admitted to the city’s central hospital, where they were provided with emergency medical care. But since Avdiyivka’s hospital is still being shelled, the injured people were then sent to a hospital in the town of Dymytriv,” the company said in a press release.
The shells exploded at the plant’s coke departments and its desulphurization unit, according to the press release. The strikes disrupted the enterprise’s gas supplies, which are crucial to the operations of coke batteries and the plant as a whole. The production of coke has been suspended. A clean-up operation is currently under way.
The Avdiyivka coke plant has been subject to heavy shelling since July 2014. More than 120 shells have exploded on its premises since then. Power supplies to the enterprise were disrupted a week ago, forcing the enterprise to switch on back-up generators.
The Avdiyivka enterprise is one of the largest coking plants in Europe. It is a member of Metinvest Group, the major shareholders of which include SCM Holdings (71.24 percent) and Smart Holding Group (23.76 percent). Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
