Russian forces struck a factory owned by a US company in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Monday, spilling an estimated 300 metric tons of sunflower oil onto nearby roads and forcing major traffic closures, city officials said.
Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov said the target was a plant belonging to Bunge, an American agribusiness headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.
“The Russians bombed American-owned property,” Filatov said, adding that the factory is owned by Bunge. The company produces the Oleyna brand of sunflower oil in Ukraine.
According to Filatov, the drone strike caused large volumes of oil to spill onto city streets, prompting services to cover the roadway with sand and absorbent materials. Traffic along the city’s embankment is expected to remain closed for two to three days.
Bunge’s Dnipro facility is a fully integrated sunflower seed processing plant, including crushing, refining and bottling operations.
Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne reported that windows were blown out in a nearby dormitory, while emergency crews were working at the impact site to address damage and replace shattered glass.
Filatov criticized what he described as muted international attention to strikes on civilian industry.
“I don’t understand why this is described as abstract ‘industrial facilities’ when a city of more than a million people can see with its own eyes what is happening,” he said.
He urged residents to be patient with traffic disruptions and thanked municipal workers operating under attack conditions. City authorities said they would provide updates on road closures and public transportation routes.
The attack occurred during a daytime drone assault on Dnipro on Jan. 5, as emergency services continued to assess damage and respond at the scene.