Russia launched a record number of drones and missiles on August 21 and specifically targeted a US company's factory based in Ukraine, UBN reported.

The Russians fired at least two cruise missiles at the US company Flex owned by a company with headquarters in both Texas and Singapore that is located in Transcarpathia, injuring 19 people.

The facility in Mukachevo, a city 30km from the Hungarian border, is a household appliance and electronics factory making things like coffee machines, which has invested around $24.5mn. Officials said 19 people were injured, and some 600 employees were on shift but had taken shelter after an air raid warning.

The timing of the strike will undermine ongoing peace deal negotiations. Following the White House summit on August 18 where Zelenskiy met with top European officials and Trump, preparations have started for a bilateral or trilateral meeting involving Zelenskiy, Putin and maybe Trump. However, the Kremlin is sticking to a hard line and the destruction of the Flex factor will only make those negotiations harder. Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, has lambasted the Western allies, accusing them of trying to derail the peace talks in recent remarks. He said a peacekeeper for Ukraine proposal currently being discussed would be “absolutely unacceptable for Russia”. Putin has also repeatedly said that no talks can start until the “root causes” of the war are addressed. He repeated again this week that any deal should be based on the terms agreed at the 2022 Istanbul peace deal.

Zelenskiy said in his evening address: "The Russians knew exactly where they lobbed the missiles. We believe this was a deliberate strike specifically on American-owned property here in Ukraine, on American investments. A very telling strike. As is this entire massive attack – right as the world awaits a clear answer from the Russians, an answer on negotiations to end the war."

"The Russians delivered this blow as if nothing had changed at all. As if there were no efforts by the world to stop this war. A reaction is needed to this. There is still no signal from Moscow that they are ready for meaningful negotiations and to end this war. Pressure is needed. Strong sanctions, strong tariffs," President Zelenskiy said in his evening address to the people.

Andy Hunder, the long-serving head of the US Chamber of Commerce, rubbed the point in by travelling to the Flex factory and released an impassioned video blog with the wrecked factory in the background. He said that the attack was not just on a Ukrainian factor but on US business interests in Ukraine.

“I am at the site of a truly horrendous Russian missile attack,” said Hunder. “Overnight, one of the largest American investments in Ukraine – Flex – an active member of the American Chamber of Commerce was hit by Russian missiles. This was not only an attack on Ukraine. It was an attack on American business. Two missiles struck the factory, where 600 employees were working the night shift. Thanks to strict safety protocols, every life was saved. Russia is not only devastating Ukraine — it is destroying and humiliating American business.”

Flex said on August 21 it is still assessing the missile strike’s damage to the factory, which “does not produce, supply or support” any defence-related components, the Financial Times reported.

In a wry remark, Yulia Svyrydenko, the new prime minister, said “the enemy decided to ‘liberate’ Ukraine from coffee machines”. Hunder reported that a third of the 700 foreign companies that are members of AmCham have had an employee killed in the last three years of war. Other US firms that have had their facilities in Ukraine overrun or damaged include Boeing, Coca-Cola and the agriculture group Cargill.

The same night, the Russians also attacked Ukraine's gas transportation infrastructure for the second time in a week in retaliation to a new Ukrainian attack on the Druzhba oil pipeline from Russia to Hungary.

In Russia’s massive attack, civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, and civilians were hit by Russian weapons. On the night of August 21, the Russian army deployed a record number of air attack vehicles into Ukraine: 574 drones and 40 missiles, many of which were shot down by Ukraine's air Defence forces.

Rescuers also responded in many other regions across Ukraine, from Zaporizhzhia to Volyn.

The attack on the Flex factory is significant as during the negotiation for a minerals deal signed on April 30, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was insisting that the US provide security guarantees as part of the deal. US President Donald Trump refused, saying the mere fact that the companies exploiting Ukraine’s minerals were American meant that Russia would not dare attack them for fear of provoking a US response.