- Metinvest is controlled by the richest man in Ukraine
- Iron ore production in Ukraine has fallen by more than 50%, it said
- The figures show the bare industrial consequences of the Russian invasion
- The company says it will not work under Russian occupation
April 15 (Reuters) – Metinvest, Ukraine’s largest steel producer [RIC:RIC:METIV.UL] promised on Friday never to work under Russian occupation and said more than a third of the country’s metallurgical production capacity was already out of order due to the siege of Mariupol.
The company, controlled by Ukraine’s richest man Rinat Akhmetov, also said Ukraine had more than halved iron ore production since Russia’s February 24th invasion.
Ukraine is one of the largest European suppliers of iron ore.
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Figures in a statement to Reuters reveal the industrial impact of the war as Russia prepares for a new offensive in the east, where Ukraine’s steel and coal assets are concentrated. Read more
Metinvest has two huge steel plants in Mariupol – Ilyich and Azovstal – which it has placed in a special “hot canning” regime to protect equipment and prevent accidents when the war broke out.
Since then, the city on the Sea of Azov has been devastated by weeks of shelling and siege.
There are declining Ukrainian forces, outnumbered and surrounded by Russian attack. Ukraine’s deputy defense minister said fighting was taking place around Ilyich and the port on Friday. Read more
INDUSTRIAL TOLKA
Metinvest said in a statement that the sites had been damaged, but it was impossible to take stock and assess the scale due to the fighting.
It says: “We believe in Ukraine’s victory and plan to resume production after the end of hostilities. Metinvest’s metallurgical plants will never operate under Russian occupation.”
Metinvest’s plants in Mariupol account for more than a third of Ukraine’s total metallurgical production, the statement said.
“The country has lost 30-40% of its metallurgical production capacity because the plants are not working. “We have no doubt that their work will be resumed, but for that Mariupol must remain Ukrainian,” the statement said.
Just a week before the war broke out, business mogul Akhmetov said Metinvest planned to invest $ 1 billion this year in modernization and new production facilities. Read more
On March 19, the company announced that two shells had fallen on Azovstal, the steel plant where Ukrainian forces are now hiding in the eastern part of the city.
Only a few days earlier, it was said that the shelling had hit the territory of the Avtiev Coke Processing Plant of Metinvest, damaging some of its facilities. Read more
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Report by Natalia Zinets; edited by Tom Balmford, Guy Falkonbridge
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