A Russian missile and drone barrage on Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has hit the ArcelorMittal steel plant, killing two people and injuring 14 others, according to Ukrainian officials. The attack also damaged key production facilities at one of the country’s biggest steelmakers.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih said the strike damaged facilities linked to its power generation and blast furnace operations, forcing the company to partially halt production. The steelmaker is part of ArcelorMittal, the global steel group founded by billionaire Lakshmi Mittal.
What happened at Lakshmi Mittal-linked steel plant?
The attack targeted Kryvyi Rih during a wider wave of Russian missile and drone strikes across Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said two people were killed and 14 wounded at the ArcelorMittal facility. The company confirmed that the strike affected important parts of its industrial infrastructure. Damage to the power generation and blast furnace sectors disrupted production operations at the plant.
The incident puts one of Ukraine’s most important industrial facilities in the spotlight once again. ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is the country’s largest steel producer and has continued operating at reduced levels during the war. ArcelorMittal’s own reporting says the Kryvyi Rih business has experienced periods of suspension and production ramp-up since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022.
Zelenskyy’s hometown comes under attack
Kryvyi Rih has repeatedly been targeted during the Russia-Ukraine war. The industrial city is also known internationally as Zelenskyy’s hometown. The latest barrage was part of a wider series of Russian strikes across Ukraine. Apart from Kryvyi Rih, attacks were reported in Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy and other areas. A further strike on Kryvyi Rih later on Sunday killed another person, according to reports.
In Kyiv, a popular outdoor book market at Pochaina was also hit, with several stalls destroyed by fire.
Who is Lakshmi Mittal?
Lakshmi Mittal is the founder and executive chairman of ArcelorMittal, one of the world’s largest steel companies. ArcelorMittal owns a majority stake in ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, with company records listing its interest in the Ukrainian business at 95.1%. The Kryvyi Rih plant has been an important part of Ukraine’s steel industry for decades. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, its operations have been repeatedly affected by security concerns and damage to infrastructure.
Russia-Ukraine strikes intensify
The strike on the steel plant came amid one of the latest major exchanges of long-range attacks between Russia and Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said Russian attacks killed people in several parts of the country, while Russia reported deaths following a large-scale Ukrainian drone assault. Russia’s Defence Ministry said it had intercepted hundreds of Ukrainian drones overnight.
The escalation comes as fighting along the front line has shown limited movement while both sides have increasingly relied on drones and missiles to strike targets far from the battlefield. The latest attacks have also highlighted the growing risk of the conflict spilling beyond Ukraine’s borders. A Spanish F-18 fighter operating as part of NATO’s air-policing mission shot down a drone that entered Romanian airspace, according to officials.
For ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, the immediate priority remains assessing the damage and restoring affected production facilities, while authorities continue investigating the latest attack.
(With inputs from AFP)
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