Russia orders shell casings from a steel plant in occupied Alchevsk. Ukraine’s drones struck it again overnight

Ukrainian drones struck the Alchevsk metallurgical plant in occupied Luhansk Oblast overnight on 20 March, the Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ reported. Monitoring channels reported at least four hits on the facility, which Russia uses to manufacture artillery shell casings for its Defense Ministry. Occupation authorities did not comment.

At least four hits, blast furnace may be damaged

Reports of explosions and fires at the plant appeared in local social media chats around 04:00–05:00 on 20 March. Residents of occupied Alchevsk reported hearing loud blasts and were unsure whether air defenses had engaged. Exilenova+ published video footage of the strike.

Monitoring channels reported at least four drone hits on the plant. The blast furnace and oxygen converter shop may have been struck — without both, steel production is impossible. The extent of damage is unknown.

Russia manufactures shell casings here

Ukraine's General Staff had previously reported that Russia set up production of artillery shell casings at the Alchevsk plant on orders from its Defense Ministry. The plant is one of the oldest ferrous metallurgy facilities in eastern Ukraine, located in Alchevsk — over 60 kilometers from the frontline in Luhansk Oblast, occupied by Russia since 2014.

Ukrainian drones struck the same facility in early December 2025. A fire broke out after that strike, and the oxygen workshop was likely damaged. 

Ukraine's Defense Forces recently destroyed a Russian surface-to-air missile depot in occupied Dovzhansk, also in Luhansk Oblast, where Russian forces had set up the arsenal on the grounds of a former dynamite storage facility.

Update

Later, Exilenova+ shared photos showing the minor damage and drone debris.

"Following the visit of SOF strike UAVs to the Alchevsk metallurgical plant, the plant's infrastructure and at least two workshops were damaged, and a fire broke out in one of the production facilities," Exilenova+ wrote about the aftermath of the overnight strike.