A fire covering about 2,500 square meters broke out on the eastern outskirts of Lipetsk on the night of July 21, according to regional governor Igor Artamonov. The blaze occurred on an open area within industrial facilities on Peredelcheskaya Street, he said.
Before the fire, authorities in Lipetsk Oblast had declared a missile and drone threat. Local residents also reported explosions, according to The Moscow Times.
Footage from eyewitnesses showing a massive plume of smoke over the city was analyzed by the outlet Astra, which determined that the fire was located between the Lipetsk-2 thermal power plant (TETs-2) and the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Combine (NLMK), Russia's largest steel producer. No precise information about which specific facility was burning was immediately available.
Ukrainian monitoring channel Supernova reported that the fire broke out at a logistics warehouse on Almaznaya Street, near NLMK's facilities. Other unconfirmed reports suggested that the fire may have affected an Indesit plant located near TETs-2.
According to official information, there were no casualties. The cause of the incident has not been disclosed. Russia's Defense Ministry said that 209 Ukrainian drones were intercepted over Russian regions overnight.