Russian strikes halted enterprises that produced 90% of Ukrainian steel

Three large Ukrainian steel plants have stopped working after Russian attacks. They accounted for about 90% of the country’s steel production, and the timing of the plants’ restoration is still uncertain.

This is reported by the Financial Times. These are enterprises in Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions that were hit by Russian ballistic missiles.

According to the publication, blast furnaces at three plants — two enterprises of the Metinvest group and ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih — were hit. The companies were forced to stop production.

Oleksandr Vodoviz, head of the Metinvest CEO’s office, said that it is currently impossible to predict how long it will take to restore capacity.

“We do not know at this time how long it will take to repair — days, weeks, months or years,” he said.

The three shut-down enterprises employ a total of more than 15,000 people. Metinvest warns that a prolonged shutdown of plants could have serious economic consequences, including impacting tax revenues to the state budget.

In particular, after the Russian ballistic missile strike on the night of September 5, Metinvest halted operations at the Kametstal plant in Kamianske. Earlier, Russian attacks also affected the facilities of Zaporizhstal and ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih.

The situation poses additional risks not only for the metallurgical industry, but also for the Ukrainian economy as a whole, due to a possible reduction in production, exports, and budget revenues.