The Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works in Zaporizhia allocated UAH 370 million for a complex of major repairs of key production units.
According to a press release issued by the plant on Tuesday, the company is continuing to implement its annual capital investment program to maintain production capacity and environmental protection equipment. The plant has carried out a major overhaul of its main production units in the blast furnace, open-hearth furnace, and hot rolling mill departments, with a total budget of UAH 370 million.
“The domestic mining and metallurgical complex is one of the export-oriented sectors of the Ukrainian economy that has lost the most during the war. We are focusing on survival, because it is the preserved production that will become the basis for future modernization and development projects. Repairs and proper maintenance of production complexes are an important contribution to ensuring the stable operation of Zaporizhstal today and in the future,” said Taras Shevchenko, acting CEO of the metallurgical plant.
According to him, the plant has carried out a series of repairs in the main production units of the enterprise: blast furnace (BF) No. 3 and its gas cleaning system, aspiration of the casting yard and bunker trestle in the blast furnace shop, a two-tank steelmaking unit and its gas cleaning system in the open-hearth shop, the 1150 slab mill and the BTLS-1680 mill, as well as shears and clamp cranes in the hot rolling shop. The work continued around the clock, with more than 400 specialists involved in the repairs: employees of the engineering services and production departments of Zaporizhstal, specialists from Zaporizhogneupor, Kametstal, and contracting organizations.
It is specified that thanks to the overhaul, DP-3, in particular, will ensure high efficiency of technological air cleaning from dust at the level of 20 mg/cubic meter.
As part of the repair of the two-tank steelmaking unit, the main vault and working space of the furnace were refired. For this purpose, Zaporizhogneupor supplied more than 800 tons of refractory fireclay and periclase-chromite products.
At the slabbing-1150 mill, repairs were carried out on the universal cage and its electric drive, roller tables, pressure units of horizontal and vertical rolls, turntable units with platform replacement, overhaul of the mill’s electrical and power equipment, repair of control panels, etc. At the BTLS-1680 mill, specialists inspected and upgraded the unit’s components.
It is also noted that the overhauls were aimed at improving the reliability and efficiency of the equipment, reducing product defects and energy losses. It should be noted that this year Zaporizhstal will also carry out a complex of major repairs of key units of the combined heat and power plant – boiler unit No. 5, turbine generator No. 1, and turbo compressor unit No. 7. The plant has allocated about UAH 75 million in investments for these purposes. Overall, despite the difficult economic situation, the capital investment budget for 2025 will exceed UAH 1 billion.
Zaporizhstal is one of Ukraine’s largest industrial enterprises, whose products are in high demand among consumers both in the domestic market and in many countries around the world.
Zaporizhstal is a joint venture of the Metinvest Group, whose main shareholders are System Capital Management (71.24%) and Smart Steel Limited (23.76%). Metinvest Holding LLC is the managing company of the Metinvest Group.
The Food from Ukraine platform symbolizes the expansion of Ukraine’s initiative from a focus on grain alone to finished products, as well as the transfer of technological knowledge, said Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture Oleksiy Sobolev at the opening of the IV International Food Security Summit “Food from Ukraine” in Kyiv on Wednesday.
Sobolev noted that Ukraine had already exported 5.8 million tons of wheat in the 2025-2026 marketing year.
“This is not just a figure, it is an indicator of the resilience of our agricultural sector, which continues to operate despite the destroyed infrastructure, constant logistical challenges, drone attacks, and daily risks,” the minister emphasized.
He cited USDA forecast data, according to which wheat exports from Ukraine will amount to 15 million tons by the end of the season, or approximately 7% of global trade in this product.
“This confirms that Ukraine continues, despite everything, to be a reliable partner for the global food market. (…) However, the issue of food security remains relevant and will only intensify. Ukrainian farmers provide food to hundreds of millions of people in different regions of the world, from North Africa to Asia. Our country remains a guarantor of global food security, ensuring the stability of supplies of grains, oilseeds, and livestock products,” Sobolev noted.
As the minister noted, Ukraine understands that demand for food will grow most rapidly. In the coming decades, Sub-Saharan Africa, which currently imports more than two-thirds of its food needs, will account for almost 14% of the increase. The average productivity of farms on this continent is only 40% of their potential, grain losses are up to 20%, and the density of mechanization is only 2-4 tractors per 100 square kilometers, which is dozens of times lower than in Europe.
At the same time, he noted the strong response to these challenges from African countries, which are investing in irrigation, mechanization, the creation of agro-industrial zones, the localization of equipment production, infrastructure development, storage, and processing. According to Sobolev, this is not just modernization, but a strategic course towards self-sufficiency.
That is why, according to the Minister of Economy, one of the strategically correct decisions for Ukraine is to transform the Ukrainian President’s Grain from Ukraine initiative into Food from Ukraine.
“The Food from Ukraine platform will form a new approach to global food policy, combining long-term financing of humanitarian programs with the creation of stable and secure logistics routes, the development of processing and production of products with high added value, the attraction of investments, the technological modernization of the agricultural sector, expanding cooperation with countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and island states, as well as establishing partnerships between the government, business, and international organizations to create a sustainable, predictable, and innovative global food system,” Sobolev emphasized.
The minister announced that Ukraine will begin creating a network of regional food hubs as part of this initiative. He showed a video presentation of the first project of such a logistics and processing hub, which is planned to be built in Ghana. Its basic infrastructure will be the storage, processing, and distribution of Ukrainian agricultural products, as well as the localization of modern technologies in West Africa.
Sobolev emphasized that Ukraine and Ghana signed a memorandum of cooperation in Kyiv on Wednesday, laying the foundation for long-term partnership and practical development of the initiative and creation of Food for Ukraine.
“Ukraine is ceasing to be a political donor of food. We are becoming part of the architecture of a new model of global food sustainability, a country that not only helps feed the world today, but also creates mechanisms for innovative production tomorrow,” the Minister of Economy concluded.
Metinvest B.V. (Netherlands), the parent company of an international vertically integrated mining and metallurgical group of companies, has paid another coupon on its 2029 Eurobonds and continues to fulfill its debt obligations, including to Eurobond holders, despite the war in Ukraine.
“We can confirm that the coupon was paid on time,” Andriy Burlakov, head of the Metinvest Group’s press service, told Interfax-Ukraine in response to a request.
The coupon payment date for Eurobonds-2029 is November 17.
“The coupon payment dates are May 17 and November 17,” according to the information on the 2029 bonds.
The coupon rate is 7.750% per annum.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. Its enterprises are located in Ukraine – in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions – as well as in the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The main shareholders of the holding company are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%). Metinvest Holding LLC is the managing company of the Metinvest Group.
Metinvest paid the coupon on Eurobonds-2029 despite the war
Thanks to the implementation of the State Strategy for Combating Antibiotic Resistance, Ukraine has reduced its consumption of reserve antibiotics by 2-2.5 times since 2022.
According to the Ministry of Health, in particular, the consumption of broad-spectrum antibiotics ceftriaxone has been reduced by half, and levofloxacin by 2.5 times.
“The reduction in the consumption of reserve antibiotics indicates that doctors prefer other, less potent first-line antibiotics whenever possible. This allows important drugs to be saved for cases where other antibiotics are ineffective,” explains the Ministry of Health.
In addition, the Ministry of Health notes an increase in the consumption of oral forms of antibiotics. In particular, in 2024, only 8% of all antibiotic prescriptions were in the form of injections.
The Ministry of Health emphasizes that, according to WHO data, as of 2023, almost one in six confirmed bacterial infections worldwide are already resistant to standard treatment, and in 2019, nearly 5 million deaths worldwide were linked to antibiotic resistance.
“Antibiotics are critically important medicines. If you take them just in case or not as prescribed, they lose their potency because bacteria easily become resistant to them. Their resistance is our vulnerability. Among the main causes of antibiotic resistance are the excessive use of antibiotics and non-compliance with the course of treatment prescribed by a doctor,” the Ministry of Health notes.
Reserve antibiotics are drugs that are prescribed in extreme cases to treat severe bacterial infections when first-line (“access group”) and second-line (“observation group”) antibiotics have proven ineffective. They are used only when there is an immediate threat to life, in order to avoid losing their effectiveness due to resistance.
In Ukraine, oil flax remains a niche crop, but its gross harvest in the 2025-2026 marketing year (MY) will amount to 66 thousand tons, which is the highest result since the 2017/18 MY, according to the information and analytical publication UkrAgroConsult.
“Production is subject to fluctuations influenced by market factors and weather conditions. Since 2020, there has been a steady expansion of acreage. Growth is driven by demand from the EU, the main importer of flax. (…) The combination of expanded acreage and improved yields has been decisive. In the 2024/25 MY, there has been a partial recovery in yields, which are still below the crop’s potential,” analysts explained.
Experts noted that exports remain a key driver of the market — more than 80% of the Ukrainian flax harvest in 2024/25 MY is sent abroad. During the years of war, this share has more than doubled.
The main destination for flax sales is the EU (Italy, Poland, and Belgium are the top importers). After the start of the full-scale war, EU countries significantly reduced their purchases of Russian flax, reorienting themselves to alternative suppliers from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Canada.
At the same time, after peaking in 2023/24 MY (over 70 thousand tons), shipments from Ukraine decreased by approximately 24% in 2024/25 MY.
“The Ukrainian oil flax market is entering a phase of stable recovery. The crop is gradually regaining its position in the crop structure, forming a new niche for small and medium-sized agricultural producers. With support for exports and the development of processing, flax has the potential to establish itself as a promising alternative crop for the northern regions of the country, which are increasingly facing weather risks,” UkrAgroConsult concluded.
Austrian artist Gustav Klimt’s “Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer” was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York for $236.4 million, according to Bloomberg.
The portrait, painted between 1914 and 1916 and completed two years before the artist’s death, became the most expensive work of modern art and the second most expensive painting ever sold at auction. The buyer’s name has not been disclosed.
Elisabeth Lederer is the daughter of Austrian businessman August Lederer. During the occupation of Austria, she pretended to be Klimt’s daughter to hide her Jewish origins. The Nazis stole the portrait from her family, but in 1948 the painting was returned, after which it was sold to art dealer Serge Sabarsky in 1983. In 1985, the painting was purchased by Leonard Lauder, son of the founders of the Estee Lauder brand, who remained the owner of the painting until his death at the age of 92 in June this year.
Another 23 lots from the Lauder collection were sold at auction, including a drawing by Vincent van Gogh and a bronze statuette by Henri Matisse, for a total of $527.5 million.
