Metinvest Mining and Metallurgical Group has allocated almost UAH 4 billion to support the country and its citizens during the year and a half of full-scale war, including UAH 2 billion for the needs of the army as part of the Rinat Akhmetov Steel Front military initiative.
According to the company’s press release on Thursday, since the first day of the full-scale Russian invasion, the company has been a reliable support for the country in a very difficult time, strengthening the defense capabilities of the army, taking care of its employees and civilian Ukrainians, and supporting the economy.
Yuriy Ryzhenkov, CEO of Metinvest, noted that the Group has been investing in the development of production and the welfare of Ukraine for all 17 years of its existence.
“With the outbreak of a full-scale war, we have faced another major challenge – to help the country defeat the enemy and preserve its sovereignty and independence. That is why for the past year and a half, the company’s enterprises have been not only witnessing but also actively participating in the struggle. We are working for the needs of the frontline, delivering humanitarian aid to the victims and, despite everything, continue to produce Ukrainian steel,” the top manager said, as quoted by the press service.
It is also stated 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. Since the outbreak of full-scale war, Metinvest’s operations have been negatively affected by logistical constraints, power outages, rising production costs and falling prices for certain products.
Despite all this, the Group’s enterprises operate at different levels of utilization, taking into account security, logistics, energy, economic and other factors.
Since the beginning of 2023, following the stabilization of power supply, the Group has been able to gradually increase the utilization of its iron ore assets in Kryvyi Rih to at least 30% of pre-war levels and maintain its focus on the production of pellets and products with a high iron content.
The restoration of power supply also ensured more stable operations and product mix flexibility at Kametstal, which operates two blast furnaces, and the joint venture Zaporizhstal, which operates three blast furnaces. BF No. 3 at Zaporizhstal resumed operations after being shut down in late spring. The overhaul helped improve the efficiency of the furnace and the entire blast furnace process.
Pokrovskoye Coal Group’s enterprises are operating at high utilization rates. Construction of the 11th coal mining unit is underway. In July, despite the military invasion, the Group successfully completed the modernization of the flotation department at Svyato-Varvarinskaya Concentrator, which had been in progress for four years.
Metinvest’s priority remains taking care of its employees who ensure the production process. All enterprises have bomb shelters equipped for long-term stay of people. The shelters have water, food and medicine.
Starting June 1, 2023, Metinvest introduced an additional bonus for employees of production and repair facilities in Ukraine, which can reach 25% of their salary or more depending on the performance of the employees.
The most important task for business in wartime is to work together with the whole country to win by paying taxes, supporting the army, the economy and taking care of people, the press release said. In the first half of 2023, Metinvest, including its associates and joint ventures, paid more than UAH 6.3 billion in taxes and fees to the budgets of all levels in Ukraine.
“Metinvest continues to fight the theft by the Russian Federation, which illegally exported more than 234,000 tons of the company’s steel products from Mariupol. In particular, 27 enterprises of the group have filed lawsuits with the European Court of Human Rights against the Russian Federation for damage to the group’s property in Mariupol and other territories of Ukraine since February 24, 2022,” the press release states.
Since the first day of the war, Metinvest has joined the Rinat Akhmetov Steel Front military initiative to protect the lives of Ukraine’s soldiers. The company has already allocated UAH 2 billion to support the Ukrainian army by purchasing bulletproof vests, vehicles, drones, thermal imagers and other equipment. The company has also organized the production of special mobile shelters, anti-tank hedgehogs and spiked chains against wheeled vehicles.
“Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of steel and mining companies. The Group’s enterprises are located primarily 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.
