A pharmaceutical production facility linked to India’s Kusum Group in Sumy, Ukraine, was heavily damaged in a Russian drone attack on October 4. One employee was killed and several others were injured, while the company’s main production building suffered extensive damage. The loss is estimated at more than Rs 400 crore, according to the company and various reports.
The incident occurred amid the Russia-Ukraine war and involved the Kusum Group’s pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Sumy. The company’s founder and principal, Rajiv Gupta, is an Indian-origin businessman. He was reportedly not present in Sumy at the time of the attack.
According to Ukrainian officials and reports linked to the company, the pharmaceutical complex was targeted during Russian drone attacks in Sumy on October 4. There has been no independent final conclusion on the precise objective of the attack. The Ukrainian side has described it as an attack on infrastructure linked to civilian and medical supplies.
Sumy is a border region of Ukraine that has experienced regular drone and missile attacks during the ongoing war with Russia. The Kusum Group’s pharmaceutical manufacturing facility sustained extensive damage in the October 4 attack.
Reports said a large part of the factory’s main structure was destroyed after the drone strike, with a large plume of smoke visible from the site. One employee was killed and several others were injured. Ukrainian regional authorities also reported that one person was killed and several people were injured in Russian attacks in the Sumy region that day.
Kusum Group expressed condolences to the family of the deceased employee. The company said the employee, Yevhen Volodymyrovych Miroshnichenko, had worked in its engineering department since 2009.
Rajiv Gupta is a businessman associated with Bharatpur in Rajasthan, India. Kusum Group initially began its activities by sending medicines from India to Ukraine and distributing them there.
The company subsequently expanded from distribution into pharmaceutical manufacturing. According to available company information, after establishing production facilities in India, it started a manufacturing plant in Sumy, Ukraine, in 2009.
The company’s business is primarily focused on the manufacturing and supply of generic medicines. According to reports, Kusum Group manufactures more than 50 pharmaceutical products and supplies medicines not only in Ukraine but also to Central Asia and other foreign markets.
In India, the company has production facilities in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan, and Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh. Kusum Group has said that production capacity in India could be used to continue supplying medicines to Ukraine.
The drone attack caused substantial economic damage to the company’s Sumy facility. Various reports have estimated the damage at at least Rs 400 crore, or about $50 million, with some descriptions putting the figure at more than that amount.
The destruction of a large part of the main production infrastructure has affected the company’s manufacturing operations in Ukraine. The facility had continued production during the war, but its normal activities have been seriously disrupted following the latest attack.
The company has indicated that its business has not been completely halted. It will seek to maintain supplies of essential medicines to Ukraine with the support of its facilities in India.
One employee was killed in the attack. Initial media reports identified the deceased as an engineer, while the company later said he was an employee associated with its engineering department.
According to Ukrainian authorities, several Russian attacks took place in the Sumy region between October 4 and October 5. The regional administration reported dozens of attacks over a 24-hour period and confirmed the death of one person and injuries to several others in the Sumy community.
The incident was part of a broader Russian aerial campaign that targeted several cities and infrastructure facilities across Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy referred to the attack on the pharmaceutical facility in Sumy and expressed condolences to the family of the person who was killed.
The Ukrainian side said the pharmaceutical complex that was damaged in Sumy was involved in the production and storage of essential medicines. Ukrainian officials described the attack as part of a broader series of Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure.
However, independent confirmation of the military purpose or intended target of a specific attack is often difficult during wartime. A final assessment of Russia’s operational intent in the attack would therefore require an official investigation.
The latest incident was not the first attack affecting Kusum Group’s operations in Ukraine. According to reports, one of the company’s warehouses was also damaged in a drone attack in April 2025.
The latest attack caused more extensive damage because the main production facility in Sumy was heavily damaged and one employee was killed.
Kusum Group’s Sumy facility is involved in the production of generic and essential medicines. A prolonged disruption to production could affect local and regional supply chains.
The protection of health-sector infrastructure has remained a sensitive issue during the war. Under international humanitarian law, the protection of civilian facilities and medical infrastructure is considered important. However, determining whether international law was violated in a specific attack requires independent fact-finding and legal assessment.
The incident occurred as India continues to maintain dialogue with both sides on efforts to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar recently said India had intensified its diplomatic efforts to help resolve the conflict and was continuing discussions with both Moscow and Kyiv.
India’s official position has long been that the Russia-Ukraine conflict should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. The attack on the assets of an Indian-origin company therefore has economic and humanitarian significance for New Delhi.
The latest attack highlights the security risks faced by Indian companies and Indian-origin businesspeople operating in Ukraine. Operating industrial facilities during the war presents challenges related to logistics, employee safety, insurance and supply chains.
In Kusum Group’s case, its production facilities in India could provide alternative supply capacity. This could help maintain supplies of essential medicines despite damage to the plant in Ukraine.
The immediate priorities are the safety of affected employees, assessment of the damage and reorganisation of production arrangements. It also remains unclear how long it will take for the Sumy plant to return fully to operations.
