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P’Harcourt refinery shuts down less than one month after recommissioning
Less than one month after the Port Harcourt Refining Company appeared to have resumed production, the facility has stopped working.
Our correspondent, who visited the refinery on Thursday, December 19, 2024, observed that the lifting of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) had stopped.
It was gathered that lifting of petrol actually stopped since December 13, as the 18-arm loading bay of the new Port Harcourt refinery was empty.
While about 18 trucks littered the stretch of the busy road leading to the refinery itself, nine trucks were spotted inside the parking yard, while the loading bay was empty.
The depot, which is usually a beehive of activities where tankers scramble for space at the parking yard, was a shadow of itself with literally no vehicular or human activity relating to operations.
$1.5bn celebration
Recall that the inauguration of the 60,000 barrel per day production capacity plant by the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, was met with celebration and fanfare. This was after $1.5bn was approved in March 2021 and spent on the rehabilitation of the facility.
During the re-opening of the facility, there was lifting of petrol to the excitement of the cheering crowd.
However, less than 10 trucks of petrol were lifted that day as against widespread claims that about 200 trucks carried petrol out of the bay.
Our correspondent also reported that no sooner had Kyari returned to Abuja than things returned to the old way, amidst allegations by stakeholders that the petrol lifted during the inauguration was old stock from the storage tank.
When our correspondent first visited the refinery three weeks ago, it was discovered that the loading bay was deserted without the lifting of products.
In response to the discovery, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria said operations were scaled down due to the calibration of meters at the loading bay and de-watering of the old stock, which had to be emptied to pave the way to receiving newly refined products.
A fortnight ago, tanker drivers drove in and started loading once again.
Journalists were also taken on a guided tour of the refinery, led by its Managing Director, Ibrahim Onoja.
Onoja stated, “The plant is running and we are trucking out our products. We have carried out an extensive revamp of this plant and changed most of the equipment.
“The pump and instrumentation, the cables are all brand new. So what we have done here is massive change and upgrade of the plant.”
Afterward, there was marked improvement as about 11 trucks lifted products, even as it was better the next day.
Back to default
However, when Saturday PUNCH visited on Thursday, it was learnt that production activities stopped one week ago.
A handful of drivers were seen sleeping in their trucks while doing nothing.
One of them, who spoke Hausa, said he learned the lifting of PMS would resume next Monday.
He, however, expressed doubt about the information as he counted the number of days with his fingers and muttered, “Three days; they said they would load on Monday.”
The number of workers and visitors could easily be counted as there were more security men clad in black trousers and blue shirts.
The guards were stationed at the entrance of the depot and the loading bay, and inside the loading bay itself. They kept themselves busy as they chatted away.
Speaking to our correspondent, another truck driver said, “It was Friday last week they loaded last. About 15 trucks or so loaded that day. Since then, not even a single truck has been loaded till now.”
Asked if any explanation was given, he replied, “I don’t know. Nobody is giving us any information or telling us anything. Some trucks that were here have left. I’m just here because my director said I should wait a bit.”
Meanwhile, a petroleum product marketer, Dappa Jubobaraye, has decried the state of refineries in the country.
Jubobaraye alleged that since Kyari inaugurated the plant, no production had taken place, pointing out that everything was just a show.
He stated, “It was intended to deceive Nigerians that the refinery is working and that is why they came up with that show. That day, only about four or five trucks loaded products.
“The loading meter was not calibrated before they started operation. Of the 18 loading arms at the bay only three are working and they have leakages. So, they have been trying to load three, four, five trucks, sometimes 10 just to show that they are working while they are not working.
“Since Mele Kyari came and left, the independent marketers have yet to load products from this depot because the NNPC is yet to fix prices for them to buy tickets and start loading products. They are only loading them to their own mega stations.
“The situation right now is that loading of PMS is not taking place because they don’t have the intention to make this place work. It is just to deceive the people.
“If you come into this place (depot), you will see trucks packed and think that loading is on; but the truth is that they are not working. Some tanker drivers have gone because they can’t come and waste time here.”
He continued, “How can you come here with the hope of loading and you stay here with your truck for two weeks, for what? Before the work stopped last week, they were loading up to 10, 15 but below 20.
“Ordinary one of the arms in the loading bay can load up to 20 to 30 trucks in a day. But for now, they are using only three arms out of the 18 loading arms inside the bay and the three are just for PMS alone. They have not started loading DPK (kerosene) and AGO (diesel). And kerosene is what concerns the ordinary more.”
Efforts to reach the spokesperson for the NNPC, Femi Soneye, were abortive as he did not take his calls or respond to a text message sent to him as of the time of filing this report.
Punch
Appeal Court limits Customs' power to seize imported rice
The Kaduna Court of Appeal has ruled that the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) cannot seize foreign rice from markets or highways, limiting their enforcement authority to land borders only.
The December 6 judgment, delivered by a three-member panel led by Justice Ntong Ntong, upheld a lower court's decision that acquitted businessman Suleiman Mohammed of illegal rice importation charges.
The case stemmed from a 2019 incident where customs officials seized Mohammed's truck containing 613 bags of foreign rice and 80 bags of millet on the Kaduna-Zaria expressway. The federal high court initially acquitted Mohammed in 2021, ruling that customs failed to prove illegal importation and noting that foreign rice imports are only banned through land borders, not seaports.
In dismissing the NCS appeal, Justice Ntong criticized customs for targeting traders instead of actual importers, stating "How can a fowl leave to attack who killed it to pursue who is de-feathering it?" The justice emphasized that the Kaduna-Zaria expressway is not a land border and that Mohammed was merely a purchaser, not an importer.
The court ordered customs to either return the seized goods to Mohammed or pay him their current market value. This ruling effectively restricts the NCS's authority to confiscate foreign rice to land border areas only, not within domestic markets or highways.
The judgment clarifies that while importing foreign rice through land borders remains prohibited, importation through seaports is legal, and customs cannot seize such products once they are being traded in local markets.
NAFDAC busts illegal rice repackaging operations in Nasarawa, Abuja
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has cracked down on counterfeit rice operations, shutting down eight illegal rice shops and a warehouse in Nasarawa state's Karu Local Government Area. The agency also seized over 1,600 bags of allegedly counterfeit rice, valued at N5 billion, from markets in Abuja's Wuse and Garki districts.
Kenneth Azikiwe, NAFDAC's FCT directorate head, revealed that the operation uncovered facilities where counterfeiters were repackaging rice in branded bags at night. The illegal operation, run by a woman from a warehouse behind her residence, would move the repackaged products to a separate warehouse during daylight hours for sale to unsuspecting consumers.
The crackdown came following direct orders from NAFDAC Director-General Mojisola Adeyeye, who mandated action to ensure only safe, quality food products would be available to Nigerians during the holiday season and beyond. Azikiwe emphasized that such counterfeiting practices are illegal and mislead consumers who believe they are purchasing quality products.
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 442
Israeli military says Yemen missile lands near Tel Aviv, 14 lightly injured, ambulance service says
The Israeli military said it failed to intercept a missile from Yemen early on Saturday that fell in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa area, and the ambulance service said 14 people received mild injuries.
Paramedics were treating 14 people with minor shrapnel injuries and some were taken to hospital, the ambulance service said in a statement.
The Israeli police reported receiving reports of a fallen missile in a town in the Tel Aviv area.
The Iran-backed group Houthis in Yemen have repeatedly fired drones and missiles towards Israel in what they describe as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
On Thursday, Israel launched strikes against ports and energy infrastructure in Houthi-held parts of Yemen and threatened more attacks against the Yemeni group.
What to know after Day 1031 of Russia-Ukraine war
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Putin challenges West to ‘technological duel’ with Oreshnik
Russian President Vladimir Putin has challenged Western leaders to put ther modern air defense systems up against Moscow’s new hypersonic Oreshnik missile in what would be a “technological duel.”
During his annual end-of-year press conference on Thursday, Putin was asked to comment on opinions expressed by some foreign military experts suggesting that the Oreshnik can easily be shot down by Western missile defense systems.
“Well, if those Western experts you mentioned believe that, they should suggest to their employers in the West and the US to conduct a technological experiment. For instance, a high-tech duel of the 21st century. Let them identify a target in Kiev, concentrate all their air defense and missile defense systems there, and then we will strike it with an Oreshnik. Let’s see what happens. We are ready for such an experiment. Is the other side ready?” Putin asked.
The president explained that given the technical characteristics of the Oreshnik and the current missile defense systems deployed by the West, it would be impossible to stop the missile or its hypersonic warheads after it had been launched.
Putin suggested that the results of such a “duel” would be of great interest to both Russia and the US, whose air defense systems are currently operating in Ukraine. Putin was also asked why the Oreshnik is named the way it is, to which he confessed that he doesn’t actually know.
The Russian military carried out the first-ever combat test of the Oreshnik on November 21, using it to destroy a Ukrainian military industrial facility in Dnepr with multiple hypersonic warheads. Putin said at the time that the decision to unveil the Oreshnik was made in response to Ukraine's long-range strikes on internationally recognized Russian territory made with Western permission.
Putin had previously explained that the Oreshnik can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads, which travel at ten times the speed of sound, making it impossible for Western air-defense systems to intercept them.
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Six killed in Ukrainian missile attack on Russia's Kursk region, acting governor says
Six people, including one child, were killed on Friday in a Ukrainian missile attack on the town of Rylsk in Russia's Kursk region, the acting governor, Alexander Khinshtein, said.
Ten wounded people, including a 13-year-old, were taken to hospital with minor injuries, Khinshtein wrote on Telegram.
"What happened today is a huge tragedy for all of us," he said. "We grieve together with the families of the victims. No one will be left without support."
Those responsible would receive "well-deserved retribution", he said.
Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, later told a session of the Security Council that Moscow would be quick to respond to the "unambiguous move by the Kyiv regime".
"As you can well understand, our response to this targeted crime against peaceful Russian citizens will not be long in coming," he told the session.
Ukrainian authorities have not commented on the incident.
Khinshtein said Ukraine had fired U.S.-supplied HIMARS rockets, damaging several buildings including a school, recreation centre and private residences in Rylsk, some 16 miles (26 km) from the border with Ukraine's Sumy region.
An unconfirmed earlier report by the Mash Telegram channel, which is close to Russian law enforcement, put the death toll at seven.
The channel published unverified video showing damaged buildings and cars on fire in a city street.
Khinshtein, posting later on Telegram, said the attack had also disrupted heating and gas networks and work was under way to restore supplies to more than 80 residences.
Ukrainian troops still hold part of Kursk region after bursting across the border in a surprise incursion on Aug. 6. Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his annual press conference on Thursday that they would be expelled, but declined to set a date for when this would happen.
Khinshtein, who served as a State Duma deputy until he was appointed acting governor of Kursk by Putin earlier this month, accused Kyiv of deliberating targeting civilians in the strike.
Both Ukraine and Russia regularly accuse the other of attacking non-combatants, and both deny it.
Tensions between the warring sides have ratcheted up since Tuesday, when a top Russian general, Igor Kirillov, was killed by a bomb in Moscow. Ukraine's SBU intelligence service claimed responsibility for the assassination.
RT/Reuters
‘Professional Back-Scratchers’ charge up to $130 per hour
The Scratcher Girls is an unconventional relaxation therapy studio that charges clients up to $130 per hour for back-scratching and tracing services so relaxing they can put people to sleep.
Over the years, we’ve featured our share of unusual services here on Oddity Central, from renting fat people by the hour to professional cuddling and human bed warmers, so we can’t really say we were shocked about the world’s first professional back-scratching service. Founded by 55-year-old Toni George, The Scratcher Girls is the world’s first back-scratching studio and it has been offering scratching and tracing services for years. George claims that she has always enjoyed getting back scratches and one day came to the realization that she may not be the only one, so she decided to start her own back-scratching service. She has been using the 3-inch-long manicured nails to scratch people’s backs ever since, charging up to $130 per hour.
“Back scratching has always been a passion of mine since I was a little girl,” Toni George wrote on The Scratcher Girls website. “This obsession led me to paying my children for back scratches. Until this day I am still paying my grandchildren for a good ol’ back scratch.”
“One night, while sleeping, the idea of a back-scratching service came to mind and left me wondering if others would pay for this service like myself,” George added. “This epiphany left us doing lots and lots of research and here we are today as The Scratcher Girls brand.”
In case you’re wondering what professional back-scratching is all about, George claims that it is raking a scratching therapist’s nails down a client’s back, limbs, scalp and even the insides of their ears in a way that is both relaxing and euphoric. Using light scratching and tracing movements with the tips of the nails, the therapist helps the client release “endorphins such as serotonin,” and also “connect or balance energy fields”.
George recently told The New York Post that her studio charges up to $130 per hour of back-scratching, adding that the service has proven so popular – especially with the ASMR community – that she and her therapists routinely travel to major metropolitan areas like New York, Los Angeles or Philadelphia to see clients.
Oddity Central
Naira expected to weaken further, says CBN business survey
Nigerian businesses anticipate further depreciation of the naira through early 2025, despite maintaining overall optimism about the macroeconomic environment, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria's November 2024 Business Expectation Survey.
While businesses expect the naira to weaken over the next three months, they project a potential recovery in the six-month outlook. This sentiment spans across all business sectors, with the construction sector showing particular optimism about its operations.
However, the survey revealed mixed economic indicators. Businesses expressed pessimism regarding several key metrics, including business activity volume, financial conditions, credit accessibility, and order volumes. Despite these concerns, companies, particularly in the agriculture sector, plan to increase hiring in December 2024.
In a separate Consumer Expectation Survey, the CBN reported that households remain pessimistic about the broader economy. Consumers anticipate rising costs in transportation, rent, vehicles, housing, and medical expenses. However, most respondents (61.1% and 57.6% respectively) believe that prices of household items, while still high, will gradually decrease over the next two months.
Atiku questions alleged hack of NBS website, says timing suspicious
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised concerns over the recent claim that the website of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) was hacked, calling the incident “suspicious” and suggesting it could be an attempt to undermine the credibility of the agency’s data. The NBS reported on Wednesday that its website, www.nigerianstat.gov.ng, had been compromised, advising the public to disregard any information posted there until further notice. The agency’s website displayed a “Page hacked” message, with the site still unavailable as of Wednesday evening.
The alleged hack comes just a day after the NBS published its Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey (CESPS) for 2024, revealing alarming figures about Nigeria’s security crisis. The report indicated that 614,937 Nigerians were murdered in one year, while over 2.2 million were kidnapped. It also noted that Nigerians paid a staggering N2.23 trillion in ransom between May 2023 and April 2024. Atiku, in a statement, linked the hack to the timing of the survey’s release, suggesting that it could be an attempt to discredit the data.
“The coincidence of this so-called hack coming shortly after the release of damning stats on security is suspicious,” Atiku said, adding that the claim was part of a larger pattern of “bad tidings” under President Bola Tinubu’s administration. He warned that politicizing data released by the NBS would be “counterproductive” and undermine the integrity of the statistics, which are vital for national planning, development, and research.
Atiku also expressed concern over the potential politicization of the NBS data, emphasizing that the agency’s reports should remain free from political interference. “These are strange times in Nigeria,” he said, hoping that the incident was not an underhanded attempt to tarnish the reputation of an essential public institution.
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 441
Israel keeps up Gaza bombardment as ceasefire talks intensify
U.S. and Arab mediators are working around the clock to hammer out a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, sources close to the talks said, while in the Gaza Strip medics said Israeli strikes had killed 44 Palestinians on Thursday.
The mediators, at talks in Egypt and Qatar, are trying to forge a deal to pause the 14-month-old war in the Hamas-ruled enclave that would include a release of hostages seized from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, along with Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Mediators had managed to narrow some gaps on previous sticking points but differences remained, the sources said.
In Gaza, medics said at least 13 Palestinians were killed overnight in separate Israeli airstrikes, including on two houses in Gaza City and a central camp.
Medics said an Israeli airstrike killed nine people near Beach refugee camp in Gaza City, while another killed four others at a housing project near Beit Lahiya in the north. There was no Israeli comment.
Later on Thursday, airstrikes killed at least 15 Palestinians in two shelters housing displaced families in eastern Gaza City's suburb of Tuffah, medics said.
Another Israeli airstrike killed at least three people after targeting a residential house in the Sabra suburb of Gaza City, medics said, bringing Thursday's death toll to 44.
The Israeli military said it struck Hamas militants operating in command and control complexes in areas that were previously used as the Al-Karama and Sha'ban Schools in Tuffah. It said Hamas used the complexes to plan and execute attacks against its forces.
Residents of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, where the army has operated since October, said forces blew up clusters of houses overnight.
"The longer those talks last, the more destruction and death takes place in Gaza. Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahiya are being wiped out, Rafah too," said Adel, 60, a resident of Jabalia, who is now displaced in Gaza City.
A report published by Medecins San Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) on Thursday said there were clear signs of ethnic cleansing in Israel's offensive as Palestinians were forcibly displaced and bombed.
"The signs of ethnic cleansing and the ongoing devastation —including mass killings, severe physical and mental health injuries, forced displacement, and impossible conditions of life for Palestinians under siege and bombardment — are undeniable," the aid group's head Christopher Lockyear said in the report.
"Palestinians have been killed in their homes and in hospital beds... People cannot find even the most basic necessities like food, clean water, medicines, and soap amid a punishing siege and blockade," MSF said.
There was no immediate Israeli comment on the MSF report but Israel has previously denied carrying out ethnic cleansing and says its campaign aims to wipe out Hamas and prevent it from regrouping.
Israel accuses the militant group of exploiting civilian infrastructure and the population as a human shield. Hamas denies this.
PHASED OR COMPREHENSIVE?
Sources close to the mediation efforts said Hamas had pushed for a one-package deal but Israel wanted a phased one. Talks are focused on a first-phase release of hostages, dead or alive, as well as a number of Palestinians jailed by Israel.
On Tuesday, the sides discussed the numbers and categories of those to be released, but things have yet to be finalized, said a source who spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the talks.
The source said one issue was Israel's demand to retain the right to act against any possible military threat from Gaza and the stationing of Israeli forces during phases of the deal.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday Israel will have security control over Gaza with full freedom of action after defeating Hamas.
Israel started its air and ground assault on Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel says about 100 hostages are still being held, but it is unclear how many are alive.
Israel's campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the 2.3 million population and reduced much of the coastal enclave to ruins.
On Thursday, Human Rights Watch said Israel had killed thousands of Palestinians in Gaza by denying them clean water which it says legally amounts to acts of genocide and extermination.
Israel's foreign ministry accused the rights group of lying, saying Israel had facilitated the continuous flow of water and humanitarian aid into Gaza since the start of the war despite constant attacks by Hamas.
Reuters
What to know after Day 1030 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Putin says Russia is ready to compromise with Trump on Ukraine war
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he was ready to compromise over Ukraine in possible talks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on ending the war and had no conditions for starting talks with the Ukrainian authorities.
Trump, a self-styled master of brokering agreements and author of the 1987 book "Trump: the Art of the Deal", has vowed to swiftly end the conflict, but has not yet given any details on how he might achieve that.
Putin, fielding questions on state TV during his annual question and answer session with Russians, told a reporter for a U.S. news channel that he was ready to meet Trump, whom he said he had not spoken to for years.
Asked what he might be able to offer Trump, Putin dismissed an assertion that Russia was in a weak position, saying that Russia had got much stronger since he ordered troops into Ukraine in 2022.
"We have always said that we are ready for negotiations and compromises," Putin said, after saying that Russian forces, advancing across the entire front, were moving towards achieving their primary goals in Ukraine.
"Soon, those Ukrainians who want to fight will run out, in my opinion, soon there will be no one left who wants to fight. We are ready, but the other side needs to be ready for both negotiations and compromises."
Reuters reported last month that Putin was open to discussing a Ukraine ceasefire deal with Trump, but ruled out making any major territorial concessions and insisted Kyiv abandon its ambitions to join NATO.
Putin said on Thursday that Russia had no conditions to start talks with Ukraine and was ready to negotiate with anyone, including President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
But he said any deal could only be signed with Ukraine's legitimate authorities, which for now the Kremlin considered to be only the Ukrainian parliament.
Zelenskiy, whose term was due to expire earlier this year but has been extended due to martial law, would need to be re-elected for Moscow to consider him a legitimate signatory to any deal to ensure it was legally watertight, said Putin.
Putin dismissed the idea of agreeing a temporary truce with Kyiv, saying only a long-lasting peace deal with Ukraine would suffice.
Any talks should take as their starting point a preliminary agreement reached between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in the early weeks of the war at talks in Istanbul, which was never implemented, he added.
Some Ukrainian politicians regard that draft deal as akin to a capitulation which would have neutered Ukraine's military and political ambitions.
WAR
Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine has left tens of thousands of dead, displaced millions and triggered the biggest crisis in relations between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Russia, which casts the conflict as a defensive special military operation designed to stop dangerous NATO expansion to the east, controls around a fifth of Ukraine and has taken several thousand square kilometres of territory this year.
Determined to incorporate four Ukrainian regions into Russia, Moscow's forces have taken village after village in the east and are now threatening strategically important cities such as Pokrovsk, a major road and rail hub.
Putin said the fighting was complex, so it was "difficult and pointless to guess what lies ahead... (but) we are moving, as you said, towards solving our primary tasks, which we outlined at the beginning of the special military operation."
Discussing the continued presence of Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region, Putin said Kyiv's troops would be forced out, but declined to say exactly when that would happen.
The war has transformed the Russian economy and Putin said it was showing signs of overheating which was stoking worryingly high inflation. But he said growth was higher than many other economies such as Britain.
Asked if he'd do anything differently, he said he should have sent troops into Ukraine sooner than 2022 and that Russia should have been better prepared for the conflict.
Asked by a BBC reporter if he'd looked after Russia, something that Boris Yeltsin had asked him to do before handing over the presidency at the end of 1999, Putin said he had.
"We have moved back from the edge of the abyss," Putin said.
"I have done everything to ensure that Russia is an independent and sovereign power that is able to make decisions in its own interests."
Russia, Putin said, had made proposals to Syria's new rulers about Russia's military bases there and most people that Moscow had spoken to on the issue favoured them staying.
Russia would need to think about whether the bases should remain or not, he added, but rumours about the death of Russian influence in the Middle East were exaggerated.
Putin touted what he said was the invincibility of the "Oreshnik" hypersonic missile that Russia has already test-fired at a Ukrainian military factory, saying he was ready to organise another launch at Ukraine and see if Western air defence systems could shoot it down.
In Brussels, Zelenskiy addressed Putin's missile suggestion during a press conference at a European Council meeting, remarking of Putin: "Do you think he is a sane person?"
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Ukraine uses US ATACMS to strike chemical plant in southern Russia – MOD
Ukraine has launched a missile attack against a large chemical plant in Russia’s southern Rostov Region, the Russian Ministry of Defense has reported. According to the military, six American-made ATACMS tactical missiles and four air-launched Storm Shadow cruise missiles were used in Wednesday's assault.
Russian air defense units engaged the incoming missiles, successfully intercepting all ATACMS and three out of the four Storm Shadow missiles using S-400 and Buk-M3 surface-to-air missile systems, as well as the Pantsir air defense system. One of the Storm Shadows veered off course. However, it still impacted the facility, resulting in damage to a technical building on the premises, the ministry said.
Moscow has condemned the attack, declaring that the attack by the Kiev regime, supported by Western sponsors, would not go unanswered.
The Kamensky plant is one of the largest chemical enterprises in southern Russia. Established in 1939, the plant has been intensively developed, producing essential chemical products to address issues of national importance and strengthening the country’s defense capabilities.
Reuters/RT