New EU restrictions on steel imports, set to take effect on July 1 of this year, could destroy Ukraine’s mining and metallurgical complex (MMC) and deal a significant blow to the budget of a country defending itself against Russia, Metinvest Group CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov said in an interview with The Guardian.
According to him, the EU’s new quota system could “kill Ukraine’s steel industry.”
He noted that the EU introduced protectionist measures due to a prolonged global steel surplus caused by China. The EU has halved the quotas for steel that can enter the bloc tariff-free and doubled the tariff to a prohibitive 50% on all imports exceeding the limit allocated to each country. This EU decision has caused concern among trading partners trying to secure a sufficiently large share of the quota for their own steel industries, particularly in the UK, where the industry has warned of an “existential threat” if it does not receive sufficient access to its largest export market.
For Ukraine, the economic threat from its military ally is exacerbated by the war, which has cut off some of its previous alternative markets and pushed the country’s steel companies toward closer integration with Europe. They have also faced additional costs due to constant attacks on infrastructure since the start of full-scale war in February 2022.
“In our view, this is an unfair approach. Ukraine does not pose a significant threat to the EU steel industry—supplies are small. At the same time, destroying one of the country’s functioning industries does not seem reasonable; we see no leniency toward Ukraine,” the CEO stated.
Furthermore, the quotas will also hinder military efforts by depriving the government of tax revenues equivalent to hundreds of millions of pounds. Metinvest is one of the largest taxpayers in the country’s private sector. Furthermore, the quotas will be imposed on duties as part of the implementation of the CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism).
Ryzhenkov noted that due to the war, Metinvest was unable to invest billions of euros in the construction of “green” electric arc furnaces at the Zaporizhstal and Kametstal plants, although the company had planned to do so even before the full-scale Russian invasion.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. Its facilities are located in Ukraine—in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions—as well as in European Union countries, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The holding’s main shareholders are the SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%). Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of the Metinvest Group.
The ‘Kametstal’ plant, part of the “Metinvest” mining and metallurgical group and established at the facilities of the Dniprovsky Metallurgical Plant (Kamenskoye, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast), has reduced electricity consumption in its converter shop by 6 kWh per ton of steel produced, from 27.4 to 21.4 kWh/t, through measures to reduce equipment load during periods between smelting runs.
According to the company, in particular, the downtime for unloading converter exhaust fan rotors has been cut in half. Operations have been organized on a rotational basis for each of the two converters, allowing equipment not involved in the current melt to be shut down and minimizing idle time, thereby ensuring a systematic reduction in electricity consumption.
In addition, electricity consumption by circulation pumps No. 1 and No. 2—which supply water to the converter gas cooling boilers on both operating converters—has been reduced by 1.2 kWh/t. As part of the investment project, frequency converters and modern controllers from Schneider were installed on CN-1 and CN-2. This allows for the automatic unloading of pumping equipment in accordance with the steelmaking process, thereby minimizing its electricity consumption between converter purges.
In the post-converter steel processing department, electricity consumption was reduced by 4.6 kWh/t through the phased implementation of effective engineering solutions to optimize metal heating. At the same time, the algorithm for automatic control of the metal heating process in the “furnace-ladle” unit was refined and improved by selecting the optimal combination of heating stages and heating rates.
Kametsal was established on the basis of PJSC Dniprovsky Coke Chemical Plant (DKCHZ) and PJSC Dniprovsky Metallurgical Plant (DMP). It is part of the Metinvest Group.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. Its facilities are located in Ukraine—in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions—as well as in European countries. The holding’s main shareholders are the SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%). Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of the Metinvest Group.
Metinvest Shipping, the logistics division of the Metinvest Group, reported a net profit of UAH 32.945 million in January–March of this year, compared to a net loss of UAH 32.944 million during the same period last year.
According to the company’s interim report, which is available to the agency “Interfax-Ukraine”, revenue from ordinary activities for this period decreased by 5.1% to UAH 492.388 million.
Retained earnings as of the end of March amounted to UAH 1.525363 billion.
In 2025, the company reported a net profit of UAH 165.097 million, whereas in the previous year there was a net loss of UAH 67.393 million, while revenue from ordinary activities for the past year decreased by 8.1%—to UAH 2,290.835 million from UAH 2,492.714 million.
The number of employees at the end of 2025 was 263, and at the end of 2024—261.
The LLC ended 2024 with a loss of UAH 67.393 million, while in 2023 it amounted to UAH 729.472 million.
Metinvest Shipping LLC has been part of the Metinvest Group since 2006. The company has branches in Mariupol (operations temporarily suspended) and Odesa. The company’s activities cover the full range of freight transportation services: organization of road and rail transport, customs clearance, freight forwarding, ship agency services, and chartering of the maritime fleet.
Metinvest Holding LLC owns a 100% stake in Metinvest Shipping LLC.
The LLC’s authorized capital is UAH 25.012 million.
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 European countries. The holding’s main shareholders are the SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%). Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of the Metinvest Group.
LOGISTICS, METINVEST, PROFIT, TRANSPORTATION, Метинвест-Шиппинг
PJSC “Zaporizhogneupor”, Ukraine’s largest refractory products manufacturer and a member of the Metinvest Group, reported a 4.4-fold increase in net loss for January–March of this year compared to the same period last year—rising to UAH 29.990 million from UAH 6.982 million
According to the company’s interim report, which is available to the agency “Interfax-Ukraine,” revenue from ordinary activities for this period decreased to UAH 869.871 million from UAH 970.715 million in the first quarter of 2025.
Retained earnings as of the end of March amounted to 59.283 million UAH.
According to the annual report, the company reported a net profit of 52.291 million UAH in 2025, while in 2024 the profit was 156.801 million UAH, with revenue from ordinary activities amounting to UAH 4,287,569 million (in 2024 – UAH 3,524,855 million).
Throughout 2025, refractory products were sold throughout Ukraine, excluding the temporarily occupied territories (TOT), and exports were directed to the following destinations: the Republic of Moldova (77% of total exports); Bulgaria (13%); Latvia (4%); North Macedonia (4%); Estonia (2%). A total of 2,815 thousand tons of products worth UAH 40.8 million were sold for export in 2025. In 2025, there was a 10% increase in gross export shipments in physical terms compared to 2024 (+262 tons).
In total, the plant sold 62,595 thousand tons of refractory products in 2025 and 62,976 thousand tons in 2024.
The number of employees as of the end of 2025 was 1,431, which is 3.9% more compared to 2024 (an increase of 53 employees). This increase was due to a decrease in employee turnover, the fulfillment of the hiring plan, and the additional recruitment of employees to implement projects. In 2025, the employee turnover rate decreased by 17.2% compared to 2024. The payroll fund for the company’s full-time employees in 2025 increased by 81.469 million UAH (+16.5%) compared to 2024, totaling 575.179 million UAH. The average monthly income of full-time employees was UAH 34,542, an increase of UAH 5,757 compared to 2024.
The company’s key development priorities include reducing costs; improving product quality and competitiveness; optimizing processes for supplying the company with energy resources and raw materials; and exploring new technologies and current trends in refractory production. As part of the company’s technical development in 2026, ten types of refractory products are planned for production.
“Zaporizhvognetriv” is Ukraine’s largest manufacturer of high-quality refractory products and materials.
According to the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) data for the first quarter of 2026, Metinvest B.V. (Netherlands) owns 50.7899% of Zaporizhogneupor’s shares, while Zaporizhstal holds 49.2101%.
The company’s authorized capital is UAH 75.925 million, with a par value of UAH 13 per share.
Metinvest-Resource LLC (Zaporizhzhia) increased its net profit by 20.3% in January–March of this year compared to the same period last year—to UAH 7.044 million from UAH 5.857 million.
According to the company’s interim report, available to the agency “Interfax-Ukraine,” revenue from ordinary activities for this period rose by 11.1%—to UAH 1.188955 billion from UAH 1.338114 billion.
The accumulated loss as of the end of March stood at UAH 32.398 million.
In 2025, the LLC reported a net profit of UAH 62.679 million, while revenue from ordinary activities for this period increased by 42.4% compared to 2024—to UAH 5.673455 billion from UAH 3.982851 billion.
Sales volume of finished products in 2025 and 2024 amounted to 108,165 thousand tons and 113,321 thousand tons, respectively.
The number of employees as of the end of 2025 was 35, and as of the end of 2024, it was 34. Labor costs for full-time employees in 2024 amounted to UAH 19.595 million, and in 2025, to UAH 22.7899 million.
In 2024, the LLC reported a net profit of UAH 6.085 million, whereas it ended 2023 with a loss of UAH 43.270 million, and in 2022, the net loss was UAH 129.227 million.
Metinvest-Resource LLC is the exclusive supplier of ferrous metal scrap to the Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises of the Metinvest Group. The company’s main activities include the wholesale trade of waste and scrap (primary) and the processing of scrap metal. As of the end of 2025, the company’s registered address is in Zaporizhzhia. The company’s capacity allows it to meet the needs of enterprises and amounts to approximately 0.693 million tons of raw materials per year.
The LLC’s authorized capital is UAH 6.437 million.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. The holding’s main shareholders are the SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%). Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of the Metinvest Group.
METALLURGY, METINVEST, Metinvest-Resource, PROFIT, SCRAP METAL
The Unisteel LLC plant (Unisteel, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast), which manufactures galvanized cold-rolled flat steel and is part of the Metinvest Group, reported a net profit of UAH 32.997 million in January-March of this year, compared to a net loss of UAH 90.003 million for the same period last year.
According to the company’s interim report, which is available to the agency “Interfax-Ukraine,” revenue from ordinary activities for this period decreased by 14.6% to UAH 771.729 million.
The accumulated loss as of the end of March amounted to UAH 1.020596 billion.
In 2025, the company reported a net loss of UAH 13.251 million, while revenue from ordinary activities for this period decreased by 10.6% compared to 2024—to UAH 3.259437 billion from UAH 3.648463 billion. Sales volume of finished products in 2025 and 2024 amounted to 108,165 thousand tons and 113,321 thousand tons, respectively.
The number of employees as of the end of 2025 was 99, and as of the end of 2024, it was 144. In 2025, the payroll fund amounted to UAH 38,445,496 thousand.
The LLC ended 2024 with a loss of 363.768 million UAH, while in 2023 this figure was 255.057 million UAH.
The main products manufactured by the plant are galvanized flat-rolled products with a thickness ranging from 0.40 mm to 2.50 mm, a width ranging from 600 to 1,250 mm, and a coating weight (Zn) of 60–275 g/m². The company’s products are supplied to both the Ukrainian and European markets. Poland and Romania are the main export markets for the company’s products.
The Unistil plant for the production of cold-rolled galvanized flat steel with a capacity of over 100,000 tons per year was built between 2007 and 2010. It is equipped with machinery from Dongbu Machinery Co., Ltd. (South Korea).
The authorized capital of Unistil LLC is UAH 6.01 million.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. Its facilities are located in Ukraine—in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions—as well as in European countries. The holding’s main shareholders are the SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%). Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of the Metinvest Group.
