Russia attacked Zaporizhstal with four ballistic missiles, and the plant had not even resumed operations after previous shelling, the city council reported.
In turn, the plant said in a statement that Russia attacked Zaporizhstal with ballistic missiles for the third time in the past month overnight September 12. Four missiles hit the company's production site, which has still not resumed production following previous strikes on August 11 and August 27. Four employees were injured.
"Zaporizhstal produced pig iron and steel for civilian needs. The plant did not produce products for military purposes and did not have anything on its premises that could have made it a military target. After the strikes on August 11 and August 27, the enterprise has still not resumed production. And even that did not stop the new attack. A simple question arises: why strike again with ballistic missiles at an enterprise that is not operating and poses no military threat?" Oleksandr Myronenko, the group's chief operating officer, commented on the strike.
At the same time, he stated that "fortunately, no one was killed this time, but four of our employees were injured."
"This is already the systematic destruction of Ukraine's civilian industry, its economic foundation and the people who ensure its viability. The scale of destruction is growing with every strike. It is currently impossible to make a final assessment, but preliminarily we are classifying the damage as critical," the chief operating officer of Metinvest Group said.
As a result of Russia's latest attack on Zaporizhstal, the main and auxiliary equipment of the blast-furnace and open-hearth shops, the plant's power system and networks, and logistics infrastructure were damaged. Since production processes at the plant had not been operating following the previous attacks, there is no threat of a man-made disaster. The number of personnel on the company's premises was significantly limited.
"There were no fatalities as a result of the attack. Four plant employees sustained injuries of varying severity. After receiving first aid and being examined by medical personnel on the company's premises, one of them refused hospitalization and remained to help deal with the aftermath of the enemy strike. Three other employees were hospitalized in city hospitals with moderately severe injuries after receiving first aid. The company is maintaining contact with medical institutions and the families of the injured employees, monitoring their condition and providing the necessary support," the statement said.
Work to deal with the aftermath of the enemy strike and inspect the damaged facilities is currently continuing at the plant. This is necessary to determine the nature and scale of the destruction inflicted on the civilian enterprise.
Over the past month, Russia has repeatedly carried out terrorist attacks on Metinvest's civilian steelmaking enterprises – Zaporizhstal and Kamet Steel. Repeated strikes, production shutdowns and new destruction already constitute the systematic destruction of Ukrainian industry. Russia is striking not only equipment and production shops. It is striking people, cities, jobs and the country's ability to operate, produce and maintain economic stability.
As reported, as a result of an enemy attack on Aug. 11, 2026, the energy divisions and infrastructure of Metinvest's enterprises in Zaporizhia were damaged, including the main and auxiliary capacities of the plant's blast-furnace operations. This led to a complete shutdown of Zaporizhstal. The Russian army attacked the shut-down Zaporizhstal again on Aug. 27, 2026, hitting blast-furnace shop equipment, energy and transportation infrastructure, and open areas.
Zaporizhstal is one of Ukraine's largest industrial enterprises, with products in high demand among consumers both on the domestic market and in many countries around the world.
Zaporizhstal is a joint venture of Metinvest Group, whose main shareholders are PJSC System Capital Management (71.24%) and Smart Steel Limited (23.76%). Metinvest Holding LLC is the group's management company.
