ArcelorMittal Ukraine plant hit by Russian missiles as attacks intensify
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Billionaire Lakshmi Mittal's ArcelorMittal’s steel plant in Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih was hit by Russian missiles overnight, killing two people and injuring 14, as Moscow stepped up airstrikes across the country, Reuters reported. The plant is located in Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The attack damaged key facilities at the ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih steel plant, including power generation and blast furnace operations, partially halting production, according to Reuters. The company is Ukraine’s biggest steel plant and the attack marks one of the latest strikes on critical industrial infrastructure since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
What the company said
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih said on Telegram that the attack had damaged its power generation and blast furnace facilities and that production had been partially halted, Reuters reported.
“As a result of the attack, key production facilities in the power generation and blast furnace sectors have been damaged,” the company said, according to Reuters.
The missile strikes also hit Kyiv early on Sunday, triggering fires in at least two districts of the capital. Three people were injured in the city, while three others, including a child, were injured in drone attacks across the wider Kyiv region, Reuters reported.
Russia-Ukraine war: What is happening now
The latest strikes come amid an escalation in attacks by both Russia and Ukraine. Russia has intensified its air attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure in recent weeks, including a strike last week on Ukraine’s largest grain export port on the Danube River near the Romanian border.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has stepped up attacks on Russian targets, including oil refineries, and has also targeted infrastructure it says supports Moscow’s war effort. Both sides have also attacked commercial vessels in the Black Sea, according to Reuters.
On Sunday, Ukraine launched a major drone attack on Russia’s Moscow region. An 83-year-old man was killed, while a warehouse belonging to Russian e-commerce company Wildberries was hit. Ukraine has accused the retailer of handling military goods.
Russia said it had downed 822 Ukrainian drones across the country. Ukraine’s military also said it had struck a missile fuel production facility in Russia’s Rostov region, although Russia had not immediately commented on that claim.
Separately, a drone entered Romanian airspace and was shot down by an F-18 fighter from a Spanish NATO contingent. NATO said the drone appeared to have originated from Russia.