Lakshmi Mittal's Ukraine steel plant hit by Russian missile; 2 killed

Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal’s ArcelorMittal steel plant in Ukraine was hit by a Russian strike on August 16, resulting in two deaths and 13 injuries, according to multiple reports. The attack targeted the plant in Kryvyi Rih, one of Ukraine’s largest steel producers and a key component of its industrial infrastructure. The strike damaged critical energy and blast furnace operations, prompting the company to partially suspend its activities. Firefighters, rescue workers and medical teams were deployed to the site to assist with recovery efforts. The strike marked the second known attack on the plant, following a missile strike in 2022 that destroyed a rolling mill and killed one worker. The current incident underscores the ongoing vulnerability of strategic industrial sites in eastern Ukraine amid the war. According to Russian state media, the strike was aimed at a metallurgical plant and other military-industrial targets in the region. Ukrainian officials confirmed the casualties and noted that the attack was part of a broader pattern of Russian aggression against civilian and industrial infrastructure. On the same day, Russian missile and drone strikes affected multiple locations across Ukraine. In Kyiv, a major fire erupted at the historic Petrivka book market near the Pochaina metro station, destroying several retail pavilions and their contents. The market, established in the 1990s, is considered one of the city’s oldest and largest book markets. Additional strikes caused fires and structural damage in parts of Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district. In the southern Zaporizhzhia region, a missile strike reportedly killed a man and a woman in their home. In Kyiv, six individuals were injured due to the attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Russia had launched over 1,550 attack drones, nearly 1,560 aerial bombs and 62 missiles in the preceding week. These attacks targeted 13 different regions, with the Kryvyi Rih strike causing two fatalities and 14 injuries. Another attack in Sumy resulted in one death and six injuries. Zelenskyy reiterated his call for international support in providing advanced air defence systems to Ukraine, emphasizing the need for stronger protections to minimize civilian casualties and infrastructure damage. In response to the attacks, Russia’s defence ministry claimed that its forces had targeted a metallurgical plant in Kryvyi Rih and several military-industrial facilities in Kyiv, including a site associated with the production of Ukraine’s Flamingo missiles. These long-range missiles have played a growing role in Kyiv’s offensive operations against Russian territory. Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine had used these weapons to strike a rocket research and production center in Samara, approximately 900 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The escalation of hostilities saw Ukraine conduct one of its largest aerial attacks on Russian territory, with hundreds of drones launched toward Moscow. Russian authorities reported the destruction of 822 Ukrainian drones overnight, including numerous ones heading towards the capital. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin noted that around 600 drones were detected near the city. One of these attacks resulted in the death of an 83-year-old man in the Moscow region, while another triggered a fire at a Wildberries warehouse in Podolsk. Meanwhile, Ukraine faced intense Russian counterattacks, with drone strikes damaging homes and igniting fires in Kyiv’s iconic book market.