Metallurgy situation catastrophic: 5 furnaces destroyed at Metinvest, 2 at AMKR, steel plants shut down – top manager

The metallurgy sector in Ukraine is currently in a catastrophic state, as a result of shelling and attacks on key steel plants. Five furnaces at Metinvest Group's enterprises have been destroyed, along with two furnaces at ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih. The steel plants are not operating, and all the plants have been destroyed, including Arcelor, Metinvest, Petrovsky Plant, and Interpipe.

This marks the first time in 100 years that Ukraine has not produced a single tonne of steel. Metinvest's enterprises remain shut down, and the company is assessing the possibility of resuming operations. However, starting up a furnace costs around $50 million, while the furnace itself costs $500 million, requiring enormous funds for repair.

Metinvest has sought assistance from various ministries, but the aid offered is at the level of UAH 2-5 million, which is inadequate. The company has been forced to lay off workers, and there is no clear plan for the future. One week in September, Ukraine did not produce any steel, marking the first time in 100 years. The group plans its actions for no more than a month ahead and is not looking beyond six months.

The company needs billions of dollars to recover, but they have not calculated the amount. The three major problems that need to be resolved are shelling and strikes on enterprises, disruptions in shipping and exporting, and the EU closing their markets to metal products through CBAM and quotas. Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and steelmaking enterprises, mainly located in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, with main shareholders SCM Group and Smart Holding.