Breaking: Russian missile strike hits Lakshmi Mittal’s Ukraine steel plant, 2 killed, 13 injured
Babushahi Bureau
Kyiv (Ukraine), August 17, 2026: A Russian missile strike hit ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine’s largest steel plant, killing two people and injuring 13 workers and contractors, while damaging key production infrastructure and forcing the facility to partially suspend operations.
The overnight attack targeted the industrial complex in Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. According to the company, the strike damaged critical energy infrastructure and facilities linked to blast furnace operations, disrupting parts of the plant’s production process.
Emergency services, including firefighters, rescuers, occupational safety specialists and medical teams, were deployed at the site following the strike. Search and rescue operations were also launched as authorities assessed the damage and worked to assist those affected.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is part of ArcelorMittal, the global steel major chaired by Indian industrialist Lakshmi Mittal. The Kryvyi Rih facility is one of Ukraine’s most important industrial assets and the country’s largest steelmaking complex.
The plant has previously been affected by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Its facilities were targeted in 2022, when a Russian strike damaged a rolling mill and a worker was killed. The latest attack comes amid a wider escalation in Russian and Ukrainian aerial strikes.
Ukraine launches major drone offensive against Russia
As Russian forces carried out strikes across Ukraine, Ukraine launched a large-scale drone offensive against targets in Russia.
Russian authorities said drones targeted areas around Moscow, with strikes causing casualties and fires. An attack also triggered a blaze at a Wildberries warehouse in the Moscow region. Russian officials reported casualties from the wider drone attacks, while Ukraine said it had targeted military-related infrastructure, including a missile fuel facility in the Rostov region.
Russia claimed that hundreds of Ukrainian drones had been intercepted during the attacks, while Ukrainian officials said Russian strikes had hit multiple locations across the country.
The exchange of strikes has further intensified pressure on critical industrial and infrastructure sites on both sides.
Why the Kryvyi Rih plant matters
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is a major part of Ukraine’s industrial sector, with large-scale steelmaking and related production facilities. The plant became part of ArcelorMittal after Mittal Steel acquired the Ukrainian facility in 2005. Mittal Steel subsequently merged with Arcelor in 2006 to create ArcelorMittal.
The latest strike has raised fresh concerns about the impact of the war on Ukraine’s industrial capacity, particularly as repeated attacks continue to damage energy and manufacturing infrastructure.
The company has not announced a full shutdown. Instead, parts of production have been suspended while specialists assess the damage and determine the timeline for restoring affected operations.