ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine's largest integrated steel mill, said on Sept. 25, 2026 that it would halt operations until the end of the war after four missile strikes over five weeks killed five workers and injured 17 others. Its shutdown leaves all three of Ukraine's largest steel plants idle following a wave of Russian ballistic missile strikes that began in August, and the company expects to record a non-cash impairment charge of about $1 billion.
The three affected plants — Zaporizhstal, Kametstal and ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih — together produced roughly 90% of Ukraine's steel before the strikes disabled them, according to industry officials and reporting by the Financial Times cited by multiple outlets. "As of today, Ukraine no longer has a metallurgical industry," Oleksandr Vodoviz, chief of staff to the CEO of Metinvest, told the Financial Times in late September.
Exact casualty and damage figures differ across company statements and media reports, and the full extent of the destruction is still being assessed.
Strikes across the sector
At Zaporizhstal in Zaporizhzhia, Metinvest said Russian forces had launched 17 ballistic missiles at the complex since August, hitting it on Aug. 11, Aug. 27, Sept. 12 and Sept. 17. The company said the first strike killed eight employees and injured 28; Ukrainian outlet NV, citing its own tally, reported 13 plant employees killed and 86 wounded across the August–September barrage. The discrepancy could not be independently reconciled from the available reports.
Metinvest said the strikes damaged blast furnaces, power generation facilities, railway infrastructure and production workshops, bringing steelmaking to a complete stop. "We attempted relaunching Zaporizhstal. We restarted a furnace, and it worked for 10 hours before there was another air strike," Vodoviz told a conference in Kyiv.
The Kamet Steel plant in Kamianske was struck by a ballistic missile on Sept. 5, forcing the facility to halt. Reports of the death toll vary: NV reported four employees killed and five injured, while other outlets reported five people killed.
Russia has alleged the plants in Zaporizhzhia and Kryvyi Rih were producing military hardware. Metinvest says Zaporizhstal produced pig iron and rolled steel exclusively for civilian applications.
Logistics and exports under pressure
Beyond the factory gates, Russian attacks on railways and ports have made it difficult and dangerous to move products within Ukraine and abroad. "Ports have essentially been blocked," Oleksandr Myronenko, chief operating officer of Metinvest, told the BBC. "Every ship is at risk of being attacked, and their chances are 50-50 — either you make it, or you don't."
Ukraine's calls for a renewed Black Sea trade route drew support from 51 countries in a joint statement on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Sept. 23, but Russia has shown no indication it will slow attacks on seaports and civilian vessels.
European trade policy has added to the pressure, industry representatives say. MEP Karin Karlsbro accused the EU of undermining Ukraine's steel industry through its new quota and tariff regime and urged Brussels to remove Ukraine from it. "If we seriously want to support Ukraine's ability to defend itself, we must do what we can to support the industrial infrastructure," she said.
Economic fallout
The metallurgical sector's share of Ukraine's GDP is projected to fall to 0% in 2026, down from 10.3% in 2021 and 5.5% in 2025, according to data reported by NV. The recent attacks have likely cost steelmakers close to $100 million, said Oleksandr Kalenkov, president of the Ukrmetallurgprom steel association. Ukraine's economy ministry has estimated the broader economic damage from Russia's campaign will reach about $10 billion by the end of the year.
The indefinite idling of the three steel complexes directly imperils the livelihoods of more than 15,000 employees, Vodoviz said, and threatens severe macroeconomic repercussions for a wartime economy that relied on the sector for tax revenue and foreign currency earnings.
What is confirmed, unknown and awaited
Confirmed: all three of Ukraine's largest steel plants have suspended production after Russian missile strikes since August; ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih will remain shuttered until the war ends; the three plants accounted for about 90% of national steel output before the attacks.
Unknown: how long repairs will take and whether the plants can be restored. "Right now we do not understand how long repairs will take — days, weeks, months, or years," Vodoviz said. Casualty figures also vary across sources and have not been independently reconciled.
Awaited: technical assessments of the damaged blast furnaces and infrastructure; the outcome of ArcelorMittal's discussions with the Ukrainian government over the Kryvyi Rih plant's future; and any EU response to calls for changes to its steel trade regime.