Seven workers lost their lives at a Ukrainian steel plant in Zaporizhzhia due to a Russian assault on Tuesday. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that Moscow utilized North Korean ballistic missiles during the attack. The Zaporizhstal plant was compelled to halt production after sustaining hits from Zircon hypersonic missiles, guided aerial bombs, and ballistic missiles acquired from Pyongyang.
According to the parent company Metinvest Group, the ballistic missile strike occurred as employees sought shelter following an air-raid alert, resulting in seven fatalities and 24 injuries. The attack caused a complete standstill in production at the plant, with other affected sites operating at reduced capacity.
Russia’s Defence Ministry reported that Russian forces targeted a metallurgical plant in Zaporizhzhia that produced flat-rolled steel utilized by the Ukrainian military. Additionally, Russian forces struck the Nova Poshta sorting complex in Kyiv, which was described as a facility used for distributing dual-use goods.
In separate incidents, six individuals were killed in Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk, while a Russian attack on Kyiv led to fires in the capital. These assaults followed a Ukrainian drone strike that reportedly caused casualties in Nizhnekamsk, Russia. Another drone attack in Russia’s Voronezh region resulted in one fatality, two injuries, and fires at warehouse facilities, prompting the evacuation of logistics facilities owned by Wildberries.
Ukraine has been conducting drone attacks on various targets in Russia, including oil refineries and warehouses. The country recently announced that it had targeted an oil refinery in Orsk in its latest strikes.
Furthermore, Russia has been employing North Korean ballistic missiles extensively in its attacks on Ukraine since late 2023. President Zelenskyy disclosed plans for a significant deployment of North Korean troops in Russia to support Moscow. The military cooperation between Russia and North Korea has deepened, with North Korea previously sending soldiers to Russia following Ukrainian incursions into the Kursk Region.
North Korea has also supplied Russia with significant military equipment, including artillery rounds, ballistic missiles, and long-range artillery systems. On the other hand, Ukraine has utilized a variety of missiles provided by allies such as the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and France.
