Ukrainian mining and steel group Metinvest has announced that its Zaporizhstal steel plant was hit by another Russian ballistic missile attack on September 17, marking the fourth such attack on the facility in just over a month.
According to the company, two ballistic missiles struck the plant's industrial sites early on September 17, significantly damaging engineering and railway infrastructure. No fatalities were reported, while one employee was hospitalized with shrapnel wounds and a concussion.
Metinvest Chief Operating Officer Oleksandr Myronenko stated that a total of 17 ballistic missiles have struck Zaporizhstal since August. He said that the repeated attacks on the idled plant were hindering efforts to restore the facility and resume operations.
Main equipment and railway infrastructure suffer significant damage
Metinvest stated that the latest attack caused significant damage to the plant's main technological and auxiliary equipment, production buildings and railway infrastructure. Cleanup operations are ongoing to allow inspections and a further assessment of the damage.
Zaporizhstal has remained completely idled since an attack on August 11 damaged its main production and auxiliary equipment, infrastructure and power system, disrupting its production chains. According to Metinvest, eight employees were killed and 28 were injured in that attack.
Zaporizhstal also attacked on August 27 and September 12
The facility was subsequently hit again on August 27, with no casualties reported. Another attack on September 12 damaged its blast furnace and steelmaking operations, energy facilities, networks and logistics infrastructure and injured four employees.
Metinvest stated that its current priority is to preserve Zaporizhstal, its workforce and production capacity and maintain the possibility of restoring the plant despite the repeated attacks.
