Russian airstrikes hit a U.S. factory in western Ukraine

Updated August 21, 2025 at 11:06 AM CDT

KYIV, Ukraine — Two Russian cruise missiles slammed into an American electronics factory in a remote corner of far western Ukraine before dawn Thursday, causing extensive damage and more than a dozen injuries, according to Ukrainian officials.

The attack came as Russia carried out one of its largest airstrikes of the war, firing more than 570 drones and 40 missiles in an overnight barrage, according to the officials.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was one of several officials who took to social media to report the airstrike, saying at least 15 people were wounded.

In his post on the Telegram messaging app, Zelenskyy called it an "ordinary civilian enterprise, an American investment. They produced such familiar household items as coffee machines."

The Ukrainian leader went on to say that the Russian military "delivered this strike as if nothing had changed at all. As if there were no efforts by the world to stop this war."

The company that was hit, Flex, produces civilian electronic components and products with more than 100 offices and factories worldwide. The company was founded in the U.S., is listed on NASDAQ, and has headquarters in both Austin, Texas, and Singapore. Flex did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

Videos on social media showed thick black smoke rising from the company's plant in the town of Mukachevo, near the border with Hungary.

Some 600 workers were on the job when the missiles struck before 5 a.m., said Myroslav Biletskyi, head of the regional military administration. Before the attack, they heeded the air raid sirens and took cover in secure areas, he noted, or the casualty toll would have been much higher. He said about one-third of the massive plant burned down.

"This enterprise exclusively produced household appliances. It never produced any military equipment," Biletskyi said, adding that Flex had been operating at the site since 2012.

"Russia continues to destroy and humiliate U.S. businesses in Ukraine, targeting companies that invest and trade on the U.S. stock markets," Andy Hunder, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, wrote on X. He said the factory was one of the largest U.S. investments in Ukraine by a private company.

Russia did not say why the plant was targeted.

Russia attacks western Ukraine less frequently than other areas. But the region was the focus of Russia's overnight barrage of hundreds of drones and missiles. Ukraine's military said it shot down most of the incoming weapons, but some managed to get through. One civilian was killed in Lviv, the largest city in western Ukraine, the military added.

Attack follows Trump's diplomatic efforts

The Russian strikes come just days after President Trump met separately with Zelenskyy in Washington and Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Alaska in an attempt to launch peace negotiations.

Trump has instructed the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, to work on plans for security guarantees for Ukraine. However, any U.S. role would likely be limited to some form of air support. Trump has made clear he doesn't want U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine, even as peacekeepers after the war ends.

Caine has been talking to counterparts in European countries. Some European states say they could send troops at some point in the future, but the talks are still in a preliminary stage as the war rages on.

Ukrainians, meanwhile, believe Putin is still determined to carry on with the fighting. Ukrainians want Western security guarantees, but many say they should be ironclad.

"I strongly continue to believe that the only solution is NATO membership for Ukraine," said Oleksandr Merezhko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament who heads the Foreign Affairs Committee. "This would stop the war. This would stop Putin's aggression because Putin is afraid of only one thing — NATO."

Many Ukrainians share his position. Ukraine was initially promised a path to NATO membership in 2008, but there's been no real progress since, and Trump says it won't happen in the current environment.

Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, has spoken of a guarantee that could resemble NATO's Article 5 — which says an attack on one is an attack on all.

But Ukraine has had limited security promises in the past, and that hasn't stopped Russia from invading twice, first in 2014 and again on a much larger scale in 2022.

Russia remains staunchly opposed to Western troops in Ukraine. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated the country's position Wednesday, saying Russia should have veto power over security guarantees for Ukraine. That would effectively make any such guarantees meaningless.

Despite the recent flurry of diplomatic activity, neither Russia nor Ukraine has indicated a willingness to make major concessions.

"At the present moment, the interests, positions and stances of Ukraine and Russia are diametrically opposed and they cannot be reconciled," said Merezhko, the member of Ukraine's parliament.

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