- Metinvest is controlled by the richest man in Ukraine
- Iron ore production in Ukraine has fallen by over 50%, they say
- Figures show the industrial toll of the Russian invasion
- The company says it won’t work under Russian occupation
Apr 15 – Metinvest, Ukraine’s largest steelmaker [RIC:RIC:METIV.UL] vowed on Friday never to operate under Russian occupation and said more than a third of the country’s metallurgical production capacity is now out of action due to the siege of the city of Mariupol.
The company, which is controlled by Ukraine’s richest man Rinat Akhmetov, also said Ukraine more than halved iron ore production after Russia’s invasion on February 24.
Ukraine is one of the largest suppliers of iron ore in Europe.
The figures, released in a statement to Reuters, revealed 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. Continue reading
Metinvest has two huge steel plants in Mariupol – Illich and Azovstal – which it placed in a special “warm protection” regime at the beginning of the war to protect equipment and prevent accidents.
The city on the Sea of Azov has since been devastated by weeks of shelling and siege.
A dwindling Ukrainian force has holed up outnumbered there and is surrounded by a Russian attack. Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine said that fighting raged around Illich and the port on Friday. Continue reading
INDUSTRIAL TOLL
Metinvest said in the statement that the sites had been damaged but that the fighting made it impossible to take stock and estimate the extent.
It said: “We believe in Ukraine’s victory and plan to resume production after the end of hostilities. Metinvest metallurgical companies will never work under Russian occupation.”
Metinvest’s plants in Mariupol accounted for more than a third of Ukraine’s total metallurgical output, it said.
“The country has therefore lost 30-40% of its metallurgical production capacity because the plants are not working. We have no doubt that their work will resume, but for that Mariupol must remain Ukrainian,” it said.
A week before the war broke out, the business magnate Akhmetov had declared that Metinvest wanted to invest a billion dollars in modernization and new production facilities this year. Continue reading
On March 19, the company said two shells had fallen on Azovstal, the steelworks where Ukrainian forces are now holed up to the east of the city.
Just days earlier, shells were said to have hit the area of Metinvest’s Avdiivka coking plant, damaging some of its facilities. Continue reading
Reporting by Natalia Zinets; Adaptation by Tom Balmforth, Guy Faulconbridge