Fifth mass strike: Russia fired six ballistic missiles at Zaporizhstal

Six missiles hit plant infrastructure

In the early hours of 17 October, Russian forces carried out a fifth mass strike on the Zaporizhstal metallurgical plant. According to the company, six ballistic missiles were fired at the facility.

Impacts were recorded in internal energy and logistics infrastructure facilities. Blast furnace production sites were damaged again. Thanks to employees promptly moving to shelters, no fatalities or injuries were recorded.

Comment from Metinvest management

Oleksandr Myronenko, Operations Director of Metinvest Group, emphasised that there is no logic to the targets of the attacks, as the plant has not returned to normal operations following previous strikes.

«Росія продовжує бити по металургійному підприємству, яке після попередніх атак так і не повернулося до нормальної роботи. Тож логіки в цих ударах немає, як і в самій війні. Після таких тривожних ночей хочеться звернути увагу на головне – і це не Росія та її атаки. Головне – це наші люди. Дякую нашим працівникам, нашій команді, яка виявилася сильнішою за обстріли й шалений тиск» (Russia continues to strike the metallurgical plant, which has not returned to normal operations after previous attacks. Therefore, there is no logic to these strikes, just as there is none to the war itself. After such nights of alarm, one wants to focus on what matters most – and that is not Russia and its attacks. What matters most is our people. I thank our employees, our team, who proved stronger than the shelling and the immense pressure), – he stated.

According to Myronenko, professionalism, competence, and team spirit have always been company values, but in times like these, the strength of people’s spirit comes to the fore, while the aggressor country continues to destroy and distort infrastructure.

«А наші люди продовжують працювати: метр за метром розбирають завали, гуртуються під час ліквідації наслідків ударів, почувши сигнал повітряної тривоги, також гуртом прямують до укриттів. Щоб після відбою знову повернутися до робіт на пошкоджених майданчиках. Щоб дістатися своїх робочих місць – біля чавунних льоток, енергетичних агрегатів, тепловозів. Щоб зрозуміти, що кожен може зробити для того, аби знову виконувати свою роботу. Дякую кожному, хто не втрачає віри в себе та українську металургію, кожному, хто бореться. У цьому – наша головна цінність, якої росіяни не можуть у нас відібрати» (And our people continue to work: they clear the rubble metre by metre, they band together while dealing with the aftermath of strikes, and upon hearing the air raid siren, they also head to shelters in a group. So that after the all-clear they can return to work at the damaged sites. So that they can reach their workplaces – by the pig iron chutes, energy units, and locomotives. So that they can understand what each person can do to resume their work again. I thank everyone who does not lose faith in themselves and in Ukrainian metallurgy, everyone who is fighting. This is our main value, one that the Russians cannot take from us), – the director added.

Statistics on losses and damage

Mass ballistic attacks on Zaporizhstal were recorded on 11 and 27 August, 12 and 17 September, and today, 17 October. During this period, a total of 23 ballistic missiles were fired at the enterprise.

As a result of these strikes, eight employees of the enterprise were killed, and another 31 metallurgists sustained injuries of varying severity.

Production status and safety measures

Following the shelling on 11 August, the entire production complex was shut down. Employees had to be involved in clearing rubble and assessing damage. Although certain technological processes were promptly restored to keep equipment in a safe condition and eliminate technological risks, their operation was subsequently maintained at a critically necessary level. Full-scale production in the usual mode has not been restarted.

Due to systematic shelling of Zaporizhzhia, the enterprise expanded its network of protective structures. Additional mobile shelters with reinforced structures were installed in repair zones and areas for dealing with the aftermath of attacks. This allowed minimising the time and distance employees need to reach shelters, which is critically important during ballistic missile attacks.