Russian strikes almost halted steel production in Ukraine – media
Russian strikes on energy, ports, railways, and factories have effectively paralyzed Ukraine’s metallurgy. Due to constant attacks, enterprises are forced to halt production, and the country is losing billions of hryvnias.
The New York Times writes about this.
The publication cites Metinvest, the largest steel producer in Ukraine, as an example. First, due to Russian shelling, the company’s enterprises began to suffer from power outages. Then, problems arose with exports due to attacks on seaports.
Russia also began to strike at the railways, making it more difficult to export finished goods. And after strikes directly at factories, some enterprises stopped working altogether.
The situation is particularly difficult with maritime transport. About 60% of Ukrainian exports pass through the ports of the Odessa region, but Russian attacks have almost stopped the movement of ships.
According to the NYT, shipping through the three Odessa ports fell by almost 95% in August and September compared to last year. In September alone, 12 ships left them, compared to 266 in the same month last year.
The problems are already affecting employees. Metinvest’s Chief Operating Officer Oleksandr Myronenko said that the company plans to cut some of its administrative staff. The budgets of cities where steel plants are among the main employers will also receive less money.
The New York Times points out that last year the metallurgical industry accounted for over 7% of Ukraine’s economic output. Therefore, its shutdown would have serious consequences not only for enterprises, but also for the economy as a whole.
The scale of the crisis is also evidenced by the fact that in September, for the first time in a hundred years, not a single ton of steel was produced in Ukraine for an entire week.
In the first nine months of 2026, the state budget has already received about UAH 49.5 billion in taxes shortfall. By the end of the year, due to problems in the metallurgy industry, losses could increase to UAH 70 billion, and in the worst-case scenario, to UAH 100 billion.