On the night of 12 September, russia attacked Zaporizhstal with ballistic missiles for the third time in the past month. Four missiles struck the production site of the plant, which has still not resumed production following the previous attacks on 11 and 27 August. Four employees were injured. Russia is deliberately destroying a civilian enterprise that is already shut down and, in doing so, destroying Ukraine's industry, jobs and economic foundation.
Oleksandr Myronenko, chief operating officer of Metinvest Group said: "Zaporizhstal produced pig iron and steel for civilian purposes. The plant did not manufacture products for military use or have anything on its premises that could make it a military target. Following the strikes on 11 and 27 August, the plant has still not resumed production. Yet even this did not prevent another attack. A simple question arises: why once again strike a plant with ballistic missiles when it is not operating and poses no military threat? Fortunately, no one was killed this time, but four of our employees were injured".
This is now the systematic destruction of Ukraine's civilian industry, its economic foundation and the people who sustain it. The scale of the destruction is growing with every strike. “It is not yet possible to assess the damage definitively, but we are provisionally classifying it as critical.”
The latest russian attack on Zaporizhstal damaged the main and auxiliary equipment of the blast-furnace and open-hearth shops, as well as the plant's power system and networks and its logistics infrastructure. As production at the plant had not resumed following the previous attacks, there is no risk of a man-made emergency. The number of employees present on the plant's premises had been significantly limited.
No one was killed in the attack. Four employees of the plant sustained injuries of varying severity. After receiving first aid and being examined by medics at the plant, one of them declined hospitalisation and remained on site to help deal with the aftermath of the enemy strike. The other three employees were taken to municipal hospitals after receiving first aid. Their injuries are of moderate severity.
The plant is maintaining contact with the medical facilities and the families of the injured employees, monitoring their condition and providing the necessary support.
Work is currently under way at the plant to deal with the aftermath of the enemy strike and inspect the damaged facilities. This is necessary to determine the nature and extent of the damage 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 further destruction now amount to the systematic destruction of Ukrainian industry. Russia is striking not only equipment and workshops, but also people, cities, jobs and the country's ability to work, produce and maintain its economic resilience.