At dawn today, Russian troops once again attacked the joint-venture Zaporizhstal steel mill, which had completely halted production following a previous strike on August 11.
According to Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Metinvest Group Oleksandr Myronenko, five ballistic missiles struck equipment in the blast furnace shop, power and transportation infrastructure, and open-air areas of the plant, damaging civilian production facilities.
He said, however, that Zaporizhstal is a civilian industrial enterprise known worldwide for its pig iron, as well as for producing rolled steel for the manufacture of pipes, household appliances, and automotive components, and that it does not produce any military products, as it is not a military facility.
"Ordinary people work at the plant: metallurgists, blast furnace operators, maintenance workers, and power engineers who produce steel for civilian life. Until August 11, the plant continued to operate despite numerous attacks – we managed to restore and restart production on multiple occasions. But the attack two weeks ago was unprecedented in its consequences. First and foremost, in terms of human casualties. Second, in terms of the scale of the destruction, as it devastated production in a way not seen since the Second World War. The civilian enterprise had barely recovered from the August 11 strike when it happened again on August 27: the same type of munitions, the same launch sites," the chief operating officer of the Metinvest Group said.
Myronenko said people are alive – and that is the most important thing: after the air raid alert was sounded, the employees who were on shift managed to take cover. However, he said, "timelines for resuming production exist only in theory, because no sooner had we cleared the debris from the previous strike than we were hit by another one."
"Currently, experts are assessing the extent of the damage and losses and inspecting the production, energy, and transportation infrastructure to determine the next steps," Myronenko said.
The press release notes that the previous attack on August 11 claimed the lives of eight Zaporizhstal employees – civilians who were heading to shelters while performing their work duties. Another 26 employees were injured. Russian missiles struck the plant just two minutes after the air raid siren sounded. At that time, key blast furnace production equipment, power facilities, and the plant's infrastructure were damaged. Zaporizhstal had only experienced destruction on this scale during the Second World War.
After urgent emergency repairs, the plant began dismantling the damaged structures to gain access to the equipment, assess the extent of the damage, and determine the feasibility of restoration. Since production had come to a complete halt, the number of employees at the plant was reduced, while the core team remained in place.
Despite the complete halt in production and the limited presence of staff, Russia attacked Zaporizhstal again. This is yet another indication that Russian troops are systematically targeting civilian industrial infrastructure and the people who work there, according to a statement from Metinvest.
