Two large Ukrainian steel plants located in the port city of Mariupol resumed normal output after natural gas supplies had been restored following a cut-off last week, said the plants owner Metinvest.
Gas supply to the Mariupol Ilyich Iron and Steel Works and Azovstal Iron and Steel Works was severed on Friday after the pipeline was damaged by shelling, leaving Mariupol and several other towns without gas.
Metinvest said the plants, which employed 10% of Mariupol’s population, had restarted blast furnaces and rolling facilities.
Mariupol, a southeastern government-controlled city on the Sea of Azov, is close to the frontline with rebel territories.
The industrial hub has been under threat from rebel attacks for months despite a ceasefire deal. Control of the city would help the rebels form a corridor to the Crimea peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine last year. (https://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL5N0Z11OU20150615/Ukrainian metal)