Speaking to the FT, Aleksandr Vodoviz has acknowledged that Russian strikes have disrupted about 90% of Ukraine\u2019s production<\/p>\n
Ukraine has effectively lost its steel industry after Russian strikes brought production at the country\u2019s three largest plants to a halt, a senior Metinvest executive has told the Financial Times.
\nBallistic missiles have disabled major steelworks in Kiev-controlled parts of Russia\u2019s Zaporozhye Region and Ukraine\u2019s Dnepropetrovsk Region, repeatedly striking Metinvest\u2019s Zaporozhstal and Kamet Steel plants and ArcelorMittal\u2019s facility in Krivoy Rog. The latest attack on Thursday damaged production equipment, workshops and railway infrastructure, the outlet reported on Sunday.
\nThe three plants, which together accounted for about 90% of Ukraine\u2019s steel output, are now idle, Aleksandr Vodoviz, head of the CEO\u2019s office at Metinvest \u2013 owned by Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov \u2013 told the FT. \u201cAs of today, [Ukraine] doesn\u2019t have a steel industry any more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Kremlin reacts to Ukraine\u2019s attack on Russian elections<\/p>\n
The Russian Defense Ministry said the strikes targeted Zaporozhstal, describing the facility as a key producer of pig iron and rolled steel used by Ukrainian and European military enterprises.
\nVodoviz said it was unclear when production could resume, with repairs potentially taking \u201cdays, weeks, months, or years.\u201d The plants employ more than 15,000 people, and their shutdown could have a major impact on tax revenues for the Ukrainian budget, he added.
\nZaporozhstal has been struck several times over the past month, with Vodoviz claiming the attacks had targeted its blast furnaces. \u201cThey knew everything about the plant, they knew exactly where to hit,\u201d he said.
\nMoscow has also reported strikes on industrial and logistics facilities related to Kiev\u2019s military. Russian forces last week hit the Radionix electronics plant and a data center in Kiev, which were involved in missile production and data processing for the Ukrainian Army, according to the Defense Ministry.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Russia downs 1,600 Ukrainian drones in \u2018unprecedented\u2019 attack during elections \u2013 Moscow mayor<\/p>\n
Other recent targets cited by the ministry include drone production and storage sites, power infrastructure, bridges, ports, warehouses, and logistics hubs. It also reported hitting a Fire Point warehouse in Kiev Region that it said stored drone components.
\nThe attacks come as Kiev has ramped up long-range strikes on Russian energy, industrial, and civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings, warehouses, and oil refineries.
\nKiev claims it considers Russian oil facilities legitimate military targets because they allegedly help finance and supply Moscow\u2019s military campaign. Russia has condemned strikes on civilians as acts of terrorism, while maintaining that its forces only target military and defense-related facilities.
\n\u201cThere is a war of attrition, and now an economic war of attrition \u2013 Russia is trying to hurt Ukraine\u2019s economy as much as possible and so does Ukraine,\u201d Alyona Bilan, chief economist at investment bank Dragon Capital, told the FT, adding that Ukraine is unlikely to record any economic growth this year.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Turkish sailors sue Ukraine over deadly drone attack<\/p>\n
The damage extends beyond steelmaking. Some 2.1 million square meters of Ukraine\u2019s roughly 5 million square meters of modern warehouse space has been destroyed, including 900,000 square meters in recent months, retailer Ruslan Shostak told the FT. The attacks could also cost Kiev around $1.5 billion in tax revenue, according to Ukrainian officials.
\nUkraine\u2019s steel industry was already shrinking before the latest strikes. The country produced around 7.4 million tons of crude steel in 2025, down from 7.6 million tons a year earlier and far below pre-conflict levels, according to the World Steel Association.
\nProducers have also faced growing pressure from cheaper Turkish steel made with Russian raw materials and tighter EU import restrictions. Metinvest COO Aleksandr Mironenko said last week that Kiev had been too slow to protect domestic producers with anti-dumping measures, adding to pressure on an industry now left without its three biggest plants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Speaking to the FT, Aleksandr Vodoviz has acknowledged that Russian strikes have disrupted about 90% of Ukraine\u2019s production Ukraine has effectively lost its steel industry after Russian strikes brought production…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38546,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t