Russia Strikes Ukraine's Largest Steel Plant as Kyiv Hits Moscow Region With Drones

KYIV, Ukraine —

Russia and Ukraine unleashed some of their heaviest strikes of the war against each other overnight, with Russian missiles and drones hitting Ukraine's largest steel plant and a Kyiv market while Ukrainian drones set fire to a big distribution warehouse outside Moscow.

Steel Plant Hit In Zelenskyy's Hometown

Russian forces struck the ArcelorMittal steel plant in Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, killing at least two people and injuring 14, Ukrainian officials said, according to the South China Morning Post. The plant is Ukraine's largest steel producer. ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih said on social media that the strike damaged "key production facilities in the power generation and blast furnace sectors" and that production had been partially halted, the South China Morning Post reported.

A ballistic missile also hit Kyiv shortly before 3 a.m., injuring six people and sparking several fires, The Guardian reported. One blaze destroyed a large part of the Petrovka book market in the city's Obolonskyi district, with booksellers saying they lost their entire stock, according to the BBC, which reported six people injured at the market. Zelenskyy accused Russia of targeting civilians, writing on social media that "wherever the Russians can reach with their ballistic missiles, they strike civilian infrastructure," The Guardian reported. He said Russia had fired more than 1,550 attack drones, nearly 1,560 guided bombs and 62 missiles at Ukrainian cities over the past week, according to The Guardian. Ukraine has little defense against fast-moving ballistic missiles after running down its stock of US-made Patriot interceptors, The Guardian reported.

Kyiv Targets Russia's Economy

Ukraine responded with what may be its largest drone attack of the war, according to The Guardian, striking a distribution warehouse belonging to the Russian e-commerce company Wildberries in Podolsk, south of Moscow. Photos showed the roughly 200,000 square meter facility engulfed in flames with black smoke rising into the sky, The Guardian reported. Andrey Vorobyov, governor of the Moscow region, called it one of the most massive drone attacks in recent memory, according to The Guardian.

Russian officials said at least six people were killed in the assault, five in the southern Rostov region and one near Moscow, The Guardian reported. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 600 drones were launched at the capital region, with 201 shot down, and told the Tass news agency it was the biggest air raid on Moscow in two years, according to The Guardian. Russia's defense ministry said it downed 822 drones overall and later reported destroying nine cruise missiles and 1,478 drones over 24 hours, though The Guardian said that figure could not be independently verified.

The attack is part of a monthlong Ukrainian campaign that has hit about 20 Wildberries warehouses and buildings in an effort to damage the Russian economy and hurt ordinary citizens financially, The Guardian reported. Ukraine has expanded its long-range strike capability this year to hit targets up to 1,500 miles from its border, nearly matching Russia's reach, according to The Guardian.

The fighting also spilled into NATO territory. Romania said a Spanish F-18 fighter jet on a NATO air-policing mission shot down a drone that crossed into its airspace from Moldova, the South China Morning Post reported. A NATO spokesperson said the drone appeared to be Russian, according to The Guardian.