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Russian ballistic missile strikes have shut down Ukraine’s three remaining major steel plants, putting about 90% of the country’s steel production capacity out of operation, the Financial Times reported on September 20.
The plants, Zaporizhstal, Kametstal and ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, were hit in a series of attacks earlier this month. The strikes damaged blast furnaces that are central to steel production, according to the FT.
Zaporizhstal was struck again on September 17 by two ballistic missiles, marking the fourth attack on the plant in less than a month. The facility is operated by Metinvest, which also owns Kametstal. ArcelorMittal operates the Kryvyi Rih plant.
The three plants together accounted for about 90% of Ukraine’s steel output and employed more than 15,000 people, leaving the sector with little remaining large-scale production capacity after the attacks.
“As of today, [Ukraine] doesn’t have a steel industry any more,” Oleksandr Vodoviz, head of the chief executive’s office at Metinvest, told the FT.
Vodoviz said the full extent of the damage remained unclear and that repairs could take days, weeks, months or years. He also warned that the shutdown could have a significant impact on tax revenues.
The attacks appear to have focused on the core production infrastructure of the plants. Vodoviz told the FT that the Russians appeared to know the facilities well and had targeted blast furnaces at all three sites.
Ukraine’s steel industry has already been severely reduced. The sector lost major production facilities after Russian advances in the special military operation zone. The latest attacks have now halted the main plants that remained in operation.
The shutdown represents a major blow to a sector that has long been one of Ukraine’s most important industrial exporters. The country’s steel industry also supports the military-industrial complex, in addition to a large network of mining, energy, transport and other industrial businesses.
Metinvest said it did not yet know when production could resume at its affected facilities. The FT reported that the uncertainty over repairs leaves the duration of the shutdown open-ended.
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