One of Europe’s largest steel plants in Mariupol damaged

Azovstal’s steel plant in Mariupol, one of the largest in Europe, has been badly damaged by shelling, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday. “One of the largest metallurgical plants in Europe has been destroyed. The economic losses to Ukraine are enormous,” said MP Lesia Vasylenko. She posted a video on Twitter showing thick columns of smoke rising from an industrial complex.

Another politician, Serhi Taruta, wrote on Facebook that Russian troops besieging the port city “virtually destroyed the factory”.

Azovstal director Enver Tskitishvili reported on Telegram that his company has been taking precautions from the outset of the Russian invasion to prevent damage to the factory. “The coke oven batteries no longer pose a danger to the lives of the inhabitants. We have also shut down the blast furnaces properly,” he says. “We will return to the city, rebuild and revive the business,” he promised.

The Azovstal plant in Mariupol belongs to the Metinvest group, which is controlled by Ukraine’s richest man, Rinat Akhmetov.