A Ukrainian grain equipment manufacturer said its decades of work were nearly wiped out in an overnight drone strike that hit its facility during a massive Russian drone assault on Aug. 1.
“For over 20 years, we’ve built this company step by step — from a small idea into a vital part of Ukraine’s economy… But at 2 a.m. on Aug. 1, it all could have disappeared,” the company, Demetra, wrote in a statement. “Geran-2 kamikaze drones. Direct hits. In an instant, decades of work were at risk. This is not just an attack on a building.”
Demetra has operated in Ukraine for more than 20 years, specializing in the production of grain elevator equipment and the construction and modernization of grain storage facilities. Since 2002, the company has built over 100 elevator complexes and installed more than 700 grain dryers, according to its website. It is also the official Ukrainian dealer for U.S.-based Sukup MFG, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of grain storage and handling systems.
Russia launched 72 drones across Ukraine that night, Ukraine’s Air Force said, with 44 shot down over the north, south, east, and central oblasts. At least 28 drones struck targets in nine locations, including frontline areas of Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts, as well as Kyiv Oblast.
The strike came just a day after a deadly Russian drone attack on July 31 hit residential buildings in Kyiv. Rescuers recovered the bodies of 31 people from the rubble, including five children. The youngest was just two years old.
A total of 179 people were injured in that attack, 16 of them children, Ukrainian officials said.