Instead of Refineries, Ukraine Began Attacking Russia's Metallurgical Plants

From the beginning of 2026 until mid-October, the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked Russian refineries no less than 114 times. According to The Moscow Times, this led to a reduction in oil processing volumes in Russia by approximately one-third and caused a fuel crisis in various regions of the country — from Siberia to Moscow.

In October, after Trump's announcement of an "energy truce," strikes on refineries ceased. The last such targets attacked were the plant in Ryazan on October 15 and the enterprise in Surgut on October 16.

Metallurgical enterprises became new targets for Ukrainian drones. On October 26, the Yakovlevsky Mining and Processing Plant, which is part of billionaire Alexey Mordashov's Severstal company, came under attack. The enterprise, which supplies the company with raw materials from the Yakovlevsky deposit, was partially left without electricity. Miners had to be brought to the surface. After a previous attack in early October, the plant was already forced to operate in a limited mode.

On the night of October 28, the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant, owned by billionaire Vladimir Lisin, came under attack. This is Russia's largest metallurgical plant, accounting for about 20% of the country's steel production. According to OSINT channels, the enterprise was struck by Storm Shadow missiles. A fire broke out at the plant.

New attacks could worsen the situation of the Russian metallurgical industry, which is already experiencing a serious crisis. After the introduction of Western sanctions, producers lost about one-third of their export markets. Simultaneously, domestic demand for metal decreased in Russia due to a downturn in construction, an economic slowdown, and high credit rates.

Due to sales difficulties, metallurgical companies last year reduced steel smelting to its lowest level in 15 years. From January to May 2026, production decreased by another 8.4% compared to the same period last year and amounted to 26.6 million tons.

Analysts of the "SberInvestments" service called the situation in the industry an unprecedented crisis, noting the duration and depth of the decline. For the first half of 2026, the net profit of the Novolipetsk Plant decreased by more than half — from 45.6 to 21 billion rubles. In Severstal, it decreased ninefold, to 4.12 billion rubles. The Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Plant incurred net losses of 19.1 billion rubles during the same period, and its revenue decreased by 10%.

Sber analysts warned that in 2026, the profits of Russian steel enterprises could fall to their lowest level in several decades.

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