Russia intentionally struck a Polish-owned factory in Ukraine, Warsaw’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.
Why It Matters
Russia has hammered Ukraine with persistent missile and drone strikes, which have intensified in recent weeks as U.S.-brokered ceasefire negotiations yielded little progress.
Moscow has occasionally attacked facilities inside Ukraine that are owned by companies based in NATO member states. The Kremlin attacked a site used by U.S. defense giant Boeing in Kyiv last month, the Financial Times reported, and Swedish bearings company SKF said in August 2023 one of its factories had been hit by a Russian missile. Three people were killed at the plant in Lutsk, northwestern Ukraine, the company said at the time. Russian authorities described the plant as a legitimate military target.
An image published by Ukrainian emergency services early on Wednesday after Russian drone strikes on the central region of Vinnytsia overnight into July 16, 2025.
An image published by Ukrainian emergency services early on Wednesday after Russian drone strikes on the central region of Vinnytsia overnight into July 16, 2025.
State Emergency Service of Ukraine/ Telegram
What To Know
Moscow launched drones at a flooring factory in the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia operated by the Barlinek Group, headquartered in the Polish city of Kielce, Poland foreign minister Radosław Sikorski said in a statement posted to X.
“The plant manager told me just now that it was deliberate,” Sikorski said.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry and the Barlinek Group for comment via email.
Ukraine’s state emergency service said early on Wednesday local time that eight people had been hospitalized after Russian drone strikes on two civilian industrial facilities and four residential buildings in Vinnytsia. The uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) caused “large-scale fires,” Ukrainian authorities said.
Two people were “severely burned,” Sikorski said. A local official in Vinnytsia said five people had received burns, categorized as “severe” for three people.
Sikorski, speaking to the media alongside Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha, said the strikes came from “three directions.” Sybiha said the targeting of the factory was “another barbaric attack” by Russia.
Referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Polish diplomat added: “Putin’s criminal war is getting closer to our borders.”
Russian attacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, close to the country’s border with NATO states Poland and Romania, have frequently caused the alliance to scramble fighter jets, in case the strikes spill over into NATO territory. Bucharest’s defense ministry said on Wednesday Russian strikes into the early morning on port infrastructure close to the Romanian border prompted the country to put fighter jets on alert, although the aircraft did not take off.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, said Russia had targeted Vinnytsia, as well as parts of southern, central and northeastern Ukraine, with the “heaviest” attacks overnight, homing in on energy infrastructure.
Zelensky said 15 people were injured, and officials were working on getting the power supply in the central city of Kryvyi Rih working “as fully as possible.”
What People Are Saying
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Wednesday: “Russia is not changing its strategy, and to effectively counter this terror, we need a systematic strengthening of defense.”
Ukraine’s state emergency service said it had deployed 116 rescuers in Vinnytsia.
Updated 7/16/25 at 11:21 a.m. EST: This story has been updated with additional information.