A Russian missile strike severely damaged the ArcelorMittal mining and metallurgical plant in Kryvyi Rih—Ukraine’s largest integrated steel unit, owned by Indian-origin billionaire Lakshmi Mittal. The strike killed two people, injured 14 workers, and forced a partial shutdown after destroying critical energy and blast-furnace infrastructure.
The Russian assault followed one of Kyiv’s largest aerial strikes of the war, where hundreds of Ukrainian drones targeted regions across Russia.
Key Developments of the Escalation
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Russian Strike on Kryvyi Rih: Targeted President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown, damaging power generation and blast furnace systems at the ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih plant, leading to operational halts.
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Massive Ukrainian Drone Assault: Kyiv launched swarms of drones deep into Russian territory. Moscow regional governor Andrey Vorobyov described it as “one of the most massive drone attacks in recent memory”.
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Impact in Russia: At least six people were killed across various Russian provinces. Drones struck a major distribution warehouse in Podolsk owned by Wildberries, Russia’s largest e-commerce platform controlled by billionaire Tatyana Kim.
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Regional Casualties and Incidents: A drone attack in Russia’s southwestern Rostov region killed five people and damaged railway infrastructure. Additional missile strikes hit Ukrainian regions including Kyiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk.
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Spillover into European Airspace: A Spanish Air and Space Force F-18 fighter jet deployed under NATO intercepted and shot down a stray drone that breached Romanian airspace near Galati.
