London: Two people were killed after a Russian missile strike hit the ArcelorMittal steel plant in Ukraine, partially disrupting operations at the country’s largest steelworks owned by Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, a Public Joint Stock Company (PJSC) located at Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, strongly condemned the “insidious enemy attacks” in a statement that said its plant was “hit by a missile strike from an aggressor country” Sunday night.
After initially confirming one fatality and 13 injuries sustained by employees and contractors, the company later updated its statement on the “hostile missile attack”.
“Unfortunately the second victim of the aggressor’s attack has been unearthed. There are two casualties this night’s attack to date,” PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih stated.
“The search and rescue operations continue. An emergency response plan has been put into effect. Firefighters, the Department of Labour Protection, rescuers, and medical workers are working at the scene. Those affected by the hostile missile strike are receiving all necessary medical care in the city’s medical facilities.
“All our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of our colleagues who suffered from the hostile attack,” the company said.
It said as a result of the attack, the main production facilities of the energy and blast furnace production were damaged and the production processes of the plant were partially halted.
“Currently, relevant specialists are assessing the extent of the damage and the possibilities and timing of restoring operations. We emphasise that our enterprise is a civilian object of the mining and metallurgical industry and we strongly condemn such insidious enemy attacks,” the company said.
The plant, a civilian industrial infrastructure, was previously targeted by a Russian strike in 2022.
“Let us remind that in 2022 our enterprise had already suffered a devastating missile strike. A rolling shop was destroyed and our employee died,” the company noted.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine’s largest integrated steel company and a strategic economic and security complex, said further information on Sunday’s hit will be provided “in accordance with the requirements of wartime”.
The missile strike comes as Russia and Ukraine continue to exchange fire in the ongoing conflict in Europe.
