A Russian missile strike damaged a major steel plant controlled by Indian-origin billionaire Lakshmi Mittal in Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih on Sunday, killing two people, injuring 14 workers and disrupting operations at the country’s largest integrated steelworks.
The attack hit the ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih facility, damaging energy infrastructure and affecting blast-furnace operations, according to reports. The plant confirmed the damage and a partial suspension of production following the strike.
Kryvyi Rih, an industrial city in central Ukraine, is also the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Russian attack came hours after Ukraine launched one of its biggest drone offensives against targets deep inside Russian territory. Russia’s Defence Ministry said its air defences intercepted 822 Ukrainian drones during the overnight assault, while Moscow regional Governor Andrey Vorobyov described the operation as one of the most massive drone attacks in recent memory.
At least six people were killed in the Ukrainian drone strikes across Russia, according to Russian officials.
An 83-year-old man was killed when a drone struck a private house in the Moscow region. Another attack sparked a fire at a Wildberries warehouse in Podolsk. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said around 600 drones had been detected heading towards the Russian capital, with about one-third destroyed over the Moscow region.
The Rostov region was also heavily targeted, with more than 150 drones reportedly striking three towns. Governor Yury Slyusar said five people were killed, while houses and a railway station were damaged and a forest fire broke out.
Ukraine has significantly expanded its long-range drone campaign this year, targeting Russian military-industrial facilities, energy infrastructure and logistics hubs. The attacks have increasingly brought the war into Russian cities and regions far from the front line.
In the latest wave of attacks on August 16, 2026, Russian forces launched a massive combined bombardment of ballistic missiles, glide bombs, and drones across Ukraine, killing at least eight people and heavily targeting energy infrastructure and industrial sites.
Steel Plant… pic.twitter.com/fPTh2snoGO
— Abiodun (@abiodunjb) August 16, 2026
Russia has responded with sustained missile and drone attacks against Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure.
In Ukraine, Russian strikes on Sunday killed one person in Kryvyi Rih, while attacks in Zaporizhzhia, Sumy and Donetsk also caused deaths. Kyiv came under attack as well, with fires reported at several locations and six people injured, including in a blaze near a major book market close to Pochaina metro station.
Zelensky said Russian ballistic missiles continued to threaten civilian infrastructure and claimed that Ukrainian cities had faced more than 1,550 attack drones, nearly 1,560 guided aerial bombs and 62 missiles over the previous week.
He again appealed to Ukraine’s Western allies for additional air-defence systems to protect cities and critical infrastructure.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces had deliberately targeted the Kryvyi Rih metallurgical plant along with several military-industrial facilities in Kyiv. Moscow claimed that one of the Kyiv sites was linked to the production of Ukraine’s Flamingo long-range missiles, which have increasingly featured in Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia.
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The overnight escalation also resulted in a drone entering NATO territory. Romania’s Defence Ministry said a Spanish F-18 fighter jet shot down a drone that crossed into Romanian airspace at about 4.44 am.
The drone was detected around 24 km north of Galați, near Romania’s border with Moldova. Romania has reported repeated drone-related incidents since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including cases in which drone debris or crashed aircraft landed on Romanian territory.
The latest exchange underscores the increasingly long-range nature of the conflict. With frontline fighting remaining largely stalled and diplomatic efforts showing little progress, both Moscow and Kyiv have intensified attacks on targets far beyond the immediate battlefield.
The escalation has increased civilian risks while also raising concerns about the possibility of further cross-border incidents as drones and missiles increasingly travel hundreds of kilometres beyond the front lines.
