A Russian strike overnight into Saturday hit a civilian factory owned by Polish bathroom-ceramics group Cersanit in Ukraine’s Zhytomyr region, Ukrainian media reported, adding to growing concern about attacks on industry and logistics far from the front.
Forbes Ukraine, citing eyewitnesses, reported that the target was the plant of TOV Cersanit Invest, the local subsidiary of Cersanit S.A., in the Zviahel district, formerly known as Novohrad-Volynskyi.
The factory produces ceramic tiles and sanitary ware under the Cersanit and Opoczno brands. It is considered one of Ukraine’s largest producers in the sector.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service, known by its Ukrainian acronym DSNS, earlier reported a fire at an enterprise in the same district following a Russian strike. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze. Initial official reports did not indicate casualties at the plant.
Cersanit had not publicly confirmed the strike by Saturday evening.
The plant is located in the village of Chyzhivka and has operated since 2007, after the Polish group built production facilities in Ukraine from scratch in the mid-2000s. Forbes Ukraine reported that the Ukrainian subsidiary had revenue of more than 3.7 billion hryvnia, or about $90 million, in 2025.
The factory is a major local employer, with company listings indicating a workforce of about 1,000 people. It has continued operating at reduced capacity during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Company management has cited labor shortages linked to mobilization rather than a collapse in demand.
Cersanit has also continued limited investment, including in a nearby kaolin deposit used in ceramic production.
The strike is significant in Warsaw because the plant represents more than a warehouse or distribution center. Polish companies that remained in Ukraine after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 have been held up by both governments as examples of private investment continuing despite the war.
The attack also highlights the vulnerability of civilian industrial facilities. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly accused Russia of targeting civilian industry, energy infrastructure and trade links, rather than limiting attacks to military targets.
The strike on the plant was part of a broader wave of attacks in the region, according to Ukrainian officials.
Vitalii Bunechko, head of the Zhytomyr regional military administration, said Russian forces also struck a foreign-invested enterprise, gas stations in Zviahel and Korosten, and later a grocery store in Zviahel.
Two people were killed in the attack on the store, while another person was reported injured in shelling elsewhere in the region. Ukrainian media also reported strikes on railway stations in Lutsk, Fastiv and Kovel.
The deaths in Zviahel were not linked to the reported fire at the Cersanit plant.
Bunechko urged residents to take shelter during air raid alerts.
For Poland, the incident comes amid growing concern about Russian pressure on the country and other NATO members on the alliance’s eastern flank. Warsaw has reported suspected sabotage involving defense-related facilities, airspace violations and other security incidents.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Thursday that Polish and Ukrainian security services had prevented what he described as a “direct threat” to a Poland-Ukraine border crossing. He said intelligence briefings indicated Russia could mount further pressure on border crossings and infrastructure in the coming months.
BREAKING: Poland and Ukraine averted a “direct threat” to one of their shared border crossings overnight, Polish PM @donaldtusk said after a Visegrád Group meeting in Bratislava.
— Poland 24 🇵🇱 (@poland24com) September 10, 2026
“We expect similar actions targeting border crossings with Ukraine in other countries, including… pic.twitter.com/NzXOYBppWS
A strike on a Polish-owned factory in Ukraine is legally and militarily different from an attack on Polish territory. But it represents a direct blow to Polish private investment and to workers employed by a Polish company.
Cersanit’s Ukrainian operations have been a commercial investment rather than a charitable project. The company developed local production to serve regional demand and later sold its Russian assets after the invasion. A workshop completed shortly before the full-scale war was never commissioned in Ukraine, and some of its equipment was moved to Poland.
The company nevertheless continued operating the Zviahel facility. Its products are used in homes and reconstruction projects across Ukraine.
The strike does not necessarily mean the plant has closed. The extent of any fire or blast damage, as well as the impact on insurance, staffing and future operations, remained unclear Saturday.
Cersanit had not issued a statement, and there was no immediate official comment from the Polish government.
The confirmed details remained limited: Ukrainian officials reported a fire at a civilian enterprise in the Zviahel district after a Russian strike; several Ukrainian outlets identified the site as the Cersanit Invest plant; and no deaths at the factory had been reported. Two civilians were killed in a separate attack on a grocery store in Zviahel.
