Russian strike hits Lakshmi Mittal’s Ukraine steel plant, 2 killed, 13 injured

Lakshmi Mittal-owned ArcelorMittal’s steel plant in Ukraine has partially suspended operations after a Russian strike killed two people and injured 13, damaging key energy and blast furnace facilities at the site in Kryvyi Rih.

The attack on Sunday damaged infrastructure linked to the plant’s energy supply and blast furnace operations, according to reports. ArcelorMittal said search and rescue operations were underway, with firefighters, emergency workers and medical personnel deployed at the site.

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is Ukraine’s largest steel plant and one of the country’s strategically important industrial facilities.

Plant previously targeted in 2022

The latest attack is not the first time the steel plant has been hit during Russia’s war in Ukraine. A Russian missile strike in 2022 destroyed a rolling mill at the facility and killed one worker, according to The Kyiv Post.

The plant is located in Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Kyiv book market damaged in strikes

The strike on the steel plant came amid a broader wave of Russian missile and drone attacks across Ukraine on August 16.

In Kyiv, an overnight attack sparked a major fire at the historic Petrivka book market near the Pochaina metro station. Several rows of retail pavilions were destroyed along with their stock.

The market, which has operated since the 1990s, is one of Kyiv’s oldest and largest book markets. The attacks also caused fires and structural damage in parts of the city’s Holosiivskyi district.

Zelensky details scale of Russian attacks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had launched more than 1,550 attack drones, nearly 1,560 aerial bombs and 62 missiles against Ukraine over the previous week.

He said the attacks had targeted 13 regions. According to Zelensky, strikes in Kryvyi Rih killed two people and injured 14, while an attack in Sumy killed one person. Six others were injured in Kyiv and the surrounding region.

Zelensky again urged Ukraine’s international partners to provide additional air defence systems, saying stronger protection was essential to prevent further civilian casualties and damage to critical infrastructure.