About 100 to 150 unidentified aggressively-looking men wearing masks and clothes with symbols of the Ukrainian nationalist movement Right Sector attempted to raid the 'Zaporizhstal' metallurgy plant on the morning of Saturday, October 18.
The plant said in a press release that the attackers did not put forward any demands and that the plant’s security guards prevented their attempt to break through its main entrances.
After that, a group of people wearing balaclavas and clothes with Right Sector symbols staged a picket near the home of Zaporizhstal’s general director, where they unfolded Right Sector symbols, set fire to car tires, and put personal pressure on the plant’s chief, members of his family, and members of the plant’s administration, it said.
‘At the present time, the northern and southern entrances to the Zaporizhstal metallurgy plant are blocked by about 10 passenger vans carrying unidentified people of athletic appearance wearing balaclavas,’ it said.
A number of local media outlets reported on Saturday that a large group of unidentified people had gathered near the regional administration building, boarded passenger vans, and proceeded toward Zaporizhstal early on Saturday.
The press release points out that this had been the second raid attempt in the past several days.
It was reported earlier that from 100 to 150 people wearing masks and Right Sector symbols had blocked Zaporizhstal’s main entrances on October 15, putting its operations at risk. In particular, the attackers blocked the plant’s transport routes to obstruct its work. Workers and contractors had problems with access to their workplaces, and supplies of equipment and raw materials were suspended.
The plant described the incident as a clearly politically motivated one, saying that, taking advantage of political instability, radical elements used this action as a pretext for unsettling the situation in the city and in the Zaporizhzhya region, which could further destabilize the situation and worsen social tensions.
The Zaporizhstal administration reported the law enforcement agencies about the incident, and the report was filed with the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations. A criminal case was opened.
The OSCE mission also expressed its concerns about the plant’s blockade.
Zaporizhstal is one of the largest industrial enterprises in Ukraine. It specializes in the production of high-quality hot-rolled steel coils, hot-rolled sheets, cold-rolled sheets, cold-rolled carbon and low-alloy steel coils, steel strap, roll-formed sections, and other products.
The plant’s principal clients are producers of welded pipes, automobiles, other transport vehicles, agricultural machinery, and household appliances.
