Strike on Kernel plant in Ukraine spills oil over thousands of square meters

Russian drones damaged a tank at a facility belonging to the Kernel agroholding in Mykolaiv region, Ekonomichna Pravda reports. Vegetable oil leaked from the facility, covering thousands of square meters of land.

The attack was part of a series of strikes on production sites of Ukraine’s food industry. According to Kernel, production buildings, equipment and tanks belonging to the company have been damaged in recent days.

Operations halted at eight plants

Due to the damage and the risk to employees, the agroholding halted technological operations at all eight of its oil extraction plants. The company also stopped purchasing sunflower seeds.

“Oil production is a continuous technological cycle involving an increased fire hazard. A hit on operating equipment poses a direct threat of a large-scale fire and endangers the lives of personnel,” Kernel said.

The statement said that the plants had followed the procedures for a safe shutdown and that employees were in safe locations. No casualties were reported in the strike in Mykolaiv region.

Company continues shipments from warehouses

Kernel operates eight oil extraction plants with a total annual capacity to process 3.5 million tonnes of sunflower seeds. The production sites are located in Poltava, Khmelnytskyi, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kirovohrad and Kharkiv regions.

Despite the halt in processing, the company said it continues to ship available products from its warehouses and fulfill its commitments to Ukrainian farmers and partners. Kernel did not specify when operations at the plants would resume.

Sources: epravda.com.ua, interfax.com.ua