Lakshmi Mittal’s Ukraine steel plant hit by Russian strike, 2 killed

A Russian strike on Sunday hit the ArcelorMittal steel plant in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, owned by Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, partially shutting operations. Two people were killed and 13 injured, according to reports. The attack damaged key energy and blast furnace production facilities at the plant, Ukraine's largest steel producer.

Russian state-run newspaper Rossiya Gazeta reported the damage. ArcelorMittal said search and rescue efforts were under way, with firefighters and medical workers at the site. The plant had been targeted before: a 2022 missile strike destroyed a rolling mill and killed one worker, The Kyiv Post reported.

The strike was part of a wave of Russian missile and drone attacks across Ukraine on August 16. In Kyiv, an overnight attack caused a major fire at the historic Petrivka book market. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had launched over 1,550 attack drones, nearly 1,560 aerial bombs and 62 missiles in the previous week, hitting 13 regions.