Russia Hits Ukraine Steel Plant as Kyiv Strikes Moscow Region in Escalating Attacks
Escalation of Attacks Between Russia and Ukraine
By Pavel Polityuk and Felix Light
Overview of Recent Strikes
Aug 16 (Reuters) - Russia carried out a wave of airstrikes on Ukraine overnight, killing two people at a steel plant, and Kyiv launched a heavy drone attack on the Moscow region that killed one person and set ablaze a warehouse used by Russia's leading e-commerce retailer.
Cross-Border Tensions and NATO Involvement
Romania, which borders Ukraine, said an F-18 fighter on a NATO air policing mission had shot down a drone that breached its airspace during the latest attacks. It did not specify the origin of the drone, which entered from Moldova, but a NATO spokesperson said it appeared to be Russian.
Attacks on Strategic Infrastructure
Russia struck Ukraine's largest grain export port on the River Danube near the Romanian border last week after stepping up attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks. Ukraine has also intensified attacks on Russian targets including oil refineries, and both sides have struck commercial vessels in the Black Sea.
Impact on Ukrainian Steel Industry
Strike on Kryvyi Rih Steel Plant
In the latest attacks since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian forces struck Ukraine's biggest steel plant overnight in the industrial city of Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's home town.
At least two people were killed and 14 injured, Ukrainian officials said.
Damage to Production Facilities
"As a result of the attack, key production facilities in the power generation and blast furnace sectors have been damaged, and the plant’s production processes have been partially halted," ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih said on Telegram.
Other Attacks on Kyiv and Surrounding Regions
A Russian missile strike on Kyiv early on Sunday caused fires in at least two districts of the capital, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. The city's military administration said three people were injured.
Tymur Tkachenko, the Kyiv region's governor, said three others, including a child, were injured in drone attacks across the region.
Ukrainian Drone Attacks on Russia
Drone Shot Down Over Romania
DRONE SHOT DOWN OVER ROMANIA
Russia's Defence Ministry said it had downed 822 Ukrainian drones throughout the country in the latest attacks.
Strikes on Moscow Region and Economic Targets
Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyov said an 83-year-old man had been killed in what he described as one of the largest Ukrainian drone attacks on the Moscow region since the start of the conflict.
He said several people were also injured in the Podolsk area, and that a warehouse belonging to Russia's largest online retailer, Wildberries, had been struck.
Video filmed by Reuters after the strike on Wildberries' Koledino warehouse showed a large plume of smoke over the site, about 45 km (28 miles) south of Moscow.
Targeting of Economic Infrastructure
Ukraine has been targeting Wildberries, which it accuses of handling military goods, in recent weeks as part of a wider bid to damage Russian economic infrastructure it sees as underpinning Moscow's military campaign.
Other Drone Strikes in Russia
One person was also killed in a drone strike on a bus near the southern Russian city of Belgorod, the regional governor said. The Belgorod region borders eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine's military said it had also hit a missile fuel production facility in Russia's Rostov region overnight. Russia did not immediately comment on the report.
International Response and NATO Actions
Romanian Airspace Incident
In the fourth incident this year in which a drone has strayed into its territory, the Romanian defence ministry said an F-18 jet that is part of a Spanish NATO contingent had shot down a drone over Romania at 5:01 a.m. (0201 GMT).
The ministry said that fragments from the destroyed drone appeared to have fallen in an uninhabited area between two villages. Russia did not immediately comment on the incident.
Reporting Credits
(Reporting by Ron Popeski, Pavel Polityuk and Felix Light, Editing by William Mallard, David Goodman and Timothy Heritage)
