OREANDA-NEWS. Employees of Metinvest Group's Avdiivka Coke managed to connect the enterprise to the natural gas pipeline. This will allow for ensuring high and stable temperatures inside the plant's coking batteries and preserve the plant's core equipment.

On August 20, plant workers connected one of eight coke oven batteries to the gas pipeline. That same day, the temperature reached normal levels - 105C. Now the main task is to increase the temperature in the other seven coking batteries. They all have already been connected to the natural gas main.

"Our plant produces one third of coke in Ukraine and is the major employer in Avdiivka. Thus, no matter how difficult it is, we do not have the moral right to give up," said Musa Magomedov, general director of Avdiivka Coke. "Today artillery shelling is continuing in close proximity to the enterprise and workers have to periodically go down into the bomb shelters. In order to give a chance to the plant and the coke oven batteries, we had to shut down and disconnect all chemical facilities. We cannot say that Avdiivka Coke is safe now. Nevertheless, we now have hope that production capacity will be restored at the enterprise. This hope will turn into confidence when electricity supplies are connected."