Russia’s largest lysine manufacturer reportedly in trouble following shelling

Premix plant number 1 sustained a missile strike on May 31, Russian news channel Shot said, adding that the facility caught fire as a result. No information pertaining to the scale of the destructions was disclosed. Premix plant number 1 manufactures around 80,000 tons of feed lysine per year, meeting more than half of the demand in the Russian market.

Shebekino, a town of 40,000 just 10 km from the border, suffered occasional shelling during the past several months, but the recent week saw an unprecedented escalation of the cross-border hostilities. Premix plant number 1 remains silent about how the conflict is affected its operation.

The regional government reported on June 1 that 9 local residents were injured as a result of the attacks, adding that there is no electricity in the city. In addition to the shelling, the Russian Defence Ministry also reported that Russian forces thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to break into the city of Shebekino.

Staff evacuation

BFM quoted a company employee, Roman, who claimed that he was not authorised to disclose any information about the production complex’s current status but confirmed that at least part of the staff was evacuated.

“During the night, many [workers] left in their cars, while the evacuation began in the afternoon. So gradually people were evacuated,” the employee said, adding that, in his opinion, 90% of companies in the Shebekino are out of service.

Suspended operations

Another resident, Maria, told BFM that there was no chance that any production would continue in Shebekino as almost the entire population was evacuated.

“There is no chance that any enterprise will continue operation. As people have left the city. Only the elderly remained. No businesses are running. Shops and pharmacies do not work; transport does not work – nothing works. People just drove off. The city has been under heavy shelling for days. For a day, or even more, attacks are carried out on the buildings in the centre and the outskirts,” she said.

One more local resident Marina whose mother worked at Premix plant number 1, also confirmed that the staff was evacuated after the shelling, adding that no workers were hurt.