Metinvest Mining and Metallurgical Group has allocated UAH 4.8 billion to help Ukraine and its citizens since the start of the full-scale war, including more than UAH 2.5 billion for the army as part of Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front military initiative.
According to the company’s press release on Thursday, the group remains a reliable support for the country in the fight against the enemy.
At the same time, Metinvest CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov noted that “the war made us feel what it is like to lose the most valuable things. But it did not make us give up.”
“We have managed to rebuild our business to meet the difficult realities of today. We have established supplies of equipment and ammunition to the frontline. We organized systematic assistance to the affected civilians. And we are already making plans to rebuild Ukraine after the victory. Metinvest’s team has been, is and will remain a reliable support for the country and its people. We are ready to overcome any challenges, because we know who we are protecting and what we are fighting for,” the company’s CEO said, as quoted by the press service.
The press release states that Metinvest’s enterprises in Ukraine are under constant threat of enemy shelling. The group’s assets in Mariupol and Avdiivka have been damaged by hostilities, while Mariupol is temporarily occupied. Despite all this, the company’s enterprises operate at different levels of utilization due to security, logistics, energy, economic and other factors.
Thus, since the beginning of 2023, following the stabilization of energy supply, Metinvest has managed to gradually increase the utilization of its iron ore assets in Kryvyi Rih to at least 30% of the pre-war level and maintain its focus on the production of pellets and products with a high iron content. In the second half of 2023, GOKs’ utilization was positively affected by the reopening of the sea corridor in Ukraine.
Electricity imports since January 2023 have also ensured more stable operations and product mix flexibility at Kametstal.
In 2023, Zaporizhstal started production of hot-rolled steel products that meet the requirements of EN 10025-1 from S235-275 J0-J2 and S355 J0-J2 steel grades, which were produced at Ilyich Iron and Steel Works of Mariupol before the full-scale invasion. To this end, the company underwent a production process inspection and technical capability analysis and, as a result, received a certificate of conformity for its production control system from the international certification body Dedal.
In 2023, Metinvest’s steelmaking companies, including the joint venture, launched production of 25 new products.
Pokrovskoye Coal Group’s enterprises operate at high utilization rates, and construction of the 11th coal mining unit is underway, which is scheduled to be commissioned in 2025.
Metinvest’s priority is to take care of its employees: all of its enterprises have bomb shelters, and on June 1, 2023, the company introduced an additional bonus in Ukraine.
In the first nine months of 2023, Metinvest, including its associates and joint ventures, paid more than UAH 11 billion in taxes and fees to the budgets of all levels in Ukraine.
It is also reported that Metinvest continues to fight theft by the Russian Federation, which illegally exported more than 234,000 tons of the company’s steel products from Mariupol. In particular, 27 of the company’s enterprises have filed lawsuits with the European Court of Human Rights against Russia for damage to the group’s property in Mariupol and other territories of Ukraine since February 24, 2022.
To strengthen the defense capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the company has established systematic supplies of machinery and equipment to the frontline.
Despite the war, Metinvest plans to implement its green transformation strategy. This includes expanding the production of DR pellets, the main raw material for more environmentally friendly steelmaking using electric arc furnaces. “Metinvest aims to build a new business format where the EU market will open its borders to Ukrainian products. To make this possible in times of war, business and the government must join forces and go this way together, the press release summarizes.
“Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of steel and mining companies. The group’s enterprises are located mainly in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro regions. The main shareholders of the holding are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%), which jointly manage it. Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
