A Russian ballistic strike on Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, killed seven employees of the Zaporizhstal steel plant and injured 21 others, Ukrainian steelmaker Metinvest, the plant’s majority owner, said on 11 August.
The workers were on their way to a shelter after an air raid alert was announced when the strike hit the industrial site, according to the company.
Metinvest said the attack also damaged energy facilities and infrastructure, as well as the main and auxiliary facilities of the plant’s coke and blast-furnace operations.
Russia’s ballistic missile strikes leave very little time between threat detection and impact for people to react and reach shelter. Several people have been killed from strikes across the country while on their way to bomb shelters.
Zaporizhstal shuts down after strike
Metinvest said Zaporizhstal has been completely shut down following the attack, while its other production sites in the city are operating at reduced capacity.
Company specialists are assessing the damage and determining the scope and timeline of repairs. Emergency and restoration work is already underway, according to the statement.
The company said its Zaporizhzhia facilities are civilian industrial sites that employ tens of thousands of people and produce steelmaking and coke-chemical products.
Metinvest said it is providing medical assistance and support to the 21 injured employees and staying in contact with the families of those killed and wounded.
The company's facilities will fly flags at half-mast on 11 and 12 August in mourning for the seven Zaporizhstal workers killed in the attack.
North Korean missiles used against Zaporizhzhia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Zaporizhzhia was targeted overnight with North Korean ballistic missiles, Russian Zircon missiles and guided aerial bombs.
Zelenskyy said the attack was designed to cause maximum damage to civilian infrastructure.
Ukraine's military intelligence said on 5 August that a North Korean missile unit had begun deploying to western Russia, potentially adding up to 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers to Russia's arsenal.
According to Ukrainian intelligence representative Andrii Cherniak, North Korea has supplied Russia with around 150 KN-23 and KN-24 missiles since late 2023, including a recent batch of 40 missiles.
The missiles have been linked to attacks with high civilian casualties, including a July strike on Radushne in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast that killed an entire family.
Ballistic threat is growing
The strike comes as Russia has increasingly relied on ballistic missiles in attacks on Ukrainian cities. Unlike drones and cruise missiles, ballistic missiles travel at very high speeds and are much harder for Ukraine to intercept, particularly because Kyiv has a limited supply of the advanced air defense interceptors needed to counter them, mainly US-made Patriot systems.
Ukraine has reported that most ballistic missiles launched in recent mass attacks have penetrated its air defenses, contributing to severe destruction and civilian casualties.
