Russia claims attacks on Ukrainian steel plants and industrial facilities

International Desk | PNN

Russia has claimed that it carried out attacks on key industrial and production infrastructure in Ukraine. The Russian Defence Ministry said several industrial facilities in the southern and central parts of the country were targeted. At the same time, reports have emerged of Ukrainian drone attacks on various industrial and energy facilities in Russia.

According to Russia’s Defence Ministry, Russian forces attacked Zaporizhstal, a major steel producer in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, on Saturday. During the same operation, the Interpipe Steel complex in the central city of Dnipro and several industrial plants in the southern city of Kryvyi Rih were also targeted.

Kryvyi Rih is also known as the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Citing Russian news agency Interfax, Russia also claimed that two cargo ships were damaged in overnight attacks in Chornomorsk, a port city on the Black Sea.

Alongside Russia’s claims of attacks, reports indicate that Ukraine also carried out drone attacks on industrial facilities inside Russian territory.

Interfax reported that Ukrainian drones targeted industrial facilities in Russia’s Samara region. Ukraine’s General Staff claimed that a factory called Tolyattikauchuk was damaged in the attack. The facility produces synthetic rubber and fuel additives, some components of which Ukraine says are used in fuel for Russian missiles.

Ilya Sukhikh, mayor of the city of Tolyatti in the Samara region, said several residential buildings were damaged in the drone attack. One person was injured.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed that 230 Ukrainian drones were shot down in the skies over various parts of the country overnight. Moscow said the drones had been detected over more than a dozen Russian regions as well as Crimea, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.

In a separate attack in the city of Taganrog in Russia’s Rostov region, four commercial facilities were reportedly set on fire, Russian news agency TASS reported, citing local mayor Svetlana Kambulova.

Since launching its full-scale military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has repeatedly attacked various facilities related to the country’s power generation, defence industry, transportation and supply networks. Moscow says one of the main objectives of these attacks is to disrupt Ukraine’s weapons production and supply capabilities as part of its military strategy.

Ukraine, meanwhile, has also increased long-range drone attacks inside Russia. Oil refineries and other energy infrastructure have been particular targets. Through these attacks, Kyiv is seeking to put pressure on Russia’s fuel supplies and its economic capacity to sustain the war.

As a result, the scope of the two countries’ retaliatory attacks is expanding beyond military facilities to industrial and energy infrastructure.

Alongside attacks on industrial facilities, casualties have also been reported from Russian strikes in Kyiv and various other areas of Ukraine.

At least two people were killed in Russian attacks on two petrol stations in Kyiv on Friday. Several fuel stations in the capital were also targeted the previous day. This has raised concerns over whether Russia is adopting a new form of attacks targeting civilian infrastructure in Kyiv.

According to information provided by Ukrainian regional governors, three more people were killed in Russian attacks in the southeastern regions of Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia and in Kharkiv in the northeast.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 12 people were injured in attacks on the capital. A 12-year-old child was among the injured. The local governor also reported that one person was killed in the Kyiv region surrounding the capital.

In addition, at least 12 people were injured in overnight Russian attacks on the southwestern port city of Odesa, according to Serhii Lysak, head of the local military administration.

Casualties have also been reported in various parts of Russia as a result of Ukrainian attacks. Local officials claimed that one person was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in the Kursk region.

Local authorities also reported that one person was killed in a drone attack in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine. The head of the administration of the Russian-controlled eastern Donetsk region claimed that two employees of a local gas company were killed in a drone attack.

In addition, two residential buildings were damaged and one person was injured in a Ukrainian missile attack in Volgograd, according to local authorities. An industrial facility was also damaged in the attack, although its name was not disclosed.

Meanwhile, despite the ongoing war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has given a new indication regarding the possibility of negotiations. According to Germany’s broadcaster Deutsche Welle, he is prepared to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit scheduled to be held in Florida, United States, next December, provided that both leaders are invited to the summit.

However, despite this indication of a possible dialogue, military tensions in the Ukraine war have not eased as attacks by both sides continue. Instead, the reciprocal targeting of industrial, energy and civilian infrastructure is creating a new dimension in the conflict.