Russian strikes pound Zaporizhzhia industry for third week: steelworks hit again, vodka factory destroyed

Russian forces struck the Zaporizhstal steelworks in Zaporizhzhia for the second time in three weeks on 27 August, hitting the same location where seven employees were killed on 11 August, according to Musa Mahomedov, Chair of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Subcommittee on Industrial Policy Source 1. The plant has been suspended since the first attack and the new barrage of five missiles has further complicated any restart.

Mahomedov stated on Facebook that the plant may eventually resume operations and steelworkers are working on repairs, but the damage is "very serious." The 11 August strike used North Korean ballistic missiles, Mahomedov noted. This is not the first time the plant has lost power due to Russian attacks — in December 2025 and January 2026, strikes on energy infrastructure forced emergency shutdowns.

On the same day, a Russian strike destroyed the Khortytsia liquor and vodka factory in Zaporizhzhia, a facility that cannot be restored, the Global Spirits press service told NV Business on 28 August Source 3. The factory took four direct hits, the fire lasted at least three hours, and three to four million bottles of products on which excise duty had already been paid were lost. The company estimated the average unit cost at about $2.25. More than 500 people worked at the facility, which produced vodka under the Khortytsia, Morosha, Pervak, Medova, Pshenychna Slioza and Gold Ukraine brands.

Also on 27 August, a warehouse of the KOLO grocery store chain was damaged in a separate Russian attack, according to the press service of Varus, which owns KOLO Source 2. No employees were injured, but temporary delays in product deliveries may occur at some stores. Varus completed its acquisition of KOLO on 4 August, creating a network of 374 stores with more than 9,000 employees.

The following evening, 28 August, Russian forces attacked a residential area in the city of Zaporizhzhia, injuring four people: two men aged 65 and 40, a 17-year-old girl and a 68-year-old woman, said Ivan Fedorov, Head of Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration Source 5. The State Emergency Service reported that a house was destroyed and a fire broke out; blast wave and debris damaged nearby houses and outbuildings.

Overall, Russian forces conducted 923 strikes on 51 settlements in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on 30 August alone, killing two people and injuring three, Fedorov reported on Telegram Source 6. This included 20 airstrikes, 659 drone attacks (mostly FPVs), four multiple-launch rocket system attacks, and 240 artillery strikes. Authorities received 43 reports of damage to residential buildings, cars and infrastructure.

In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a separate Russian attack on Pavlohrad on 28 August injured four people, three of them in serious condition, said Oleksandr Hanzha, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration Source 4. A fire broke out at the strike site.

The sustained bombardment of Zaporizhzhia's industrial base — hitting the same steelworks twice in three weeks, destroying a major distillery, and damaging a grocery chain’s logistics — suggests a deliberate strategy to cripple the region's economic infrastructure and displace its workforce. The steelworks alone employed thousands; the vodka factory employed more than 500. With the plant suspended and the distillery gone, those jobs are gone too, at least for now.