Russian Strike on Zaporizhzhia Steel Plant Kills Seven, Kyiv Says
A Russian attack on a steel plant in Zaporizhzhia killed seven workers and halted production. Kyiv says Moscow used North Korean missiles.
A Russian strike on the Zaporizhstal steel plant in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia killed seven employees and forced the facility to suspend operations, according to the plant's parent company, Metinvest Group. The attack occurred as workers were heading to shelter after an air-raid alert sounded.
The assault was part of a broader Russian bombardment of the city using a combination of Zircon hypersonic missiles, guided aerial bombs, and ballistic missiles. Regional governor Ivan Fedorov reported that the strike also damaged four residential buildings and injured at least 24 people. No damage was reported at the nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Russia's defence ministry confirmed it had targeted the metallurgical plant, claiming it produced flat-rolled steel used by the Ukrainian military. The ministry also said it struck a Nova Poshta sorting complex in Kyiv, which it described as a distribution point for dual-use goods, including drone components.
The attacks came a day after a Ukrainian drone strike in the Russian city of Nizhnekamsk killed at least 13 people, according to Russian authorities. Ukraine said it had hit the city's TANECO oil refinery. Another Ukrainian drone attack overnight killed one person and injured two in Russia's Voronezh region, causing fires at warehouse facilities.
Ukrainian officials also reported that six people were killed overnight in the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated that Moscow used North Korean ballistic missiles in the Zaporizhzhia attack. Russia has not commented on the specific weaponry used, and there has been no response from Pyongyang. A Ukrainian military intelligence official recently said a North Korean missile unit was deploying to western Russia, potentially equipped with 120 ballistic missiles. Zelenskiy has also alleged that Moscow is preparing to deploy tens of thousands of North Korean troops to fight in Russia, calling on allies to respond decisively.