ArcelorMittal to close plant and mine in Kryvyi Rih after Russian strikes

This is one of the three leading steel plants that remained in Ukraine. ArcelorMittal said it will resume operations only after peace is established in the region.

The plant in Kryvyi Rih became the largest in Ukraine after the loss of Azovstal and the Ilyich Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol as a result of the Russian occupation of the city. According to a person close to ArcelorMittal, the facility was bombed four times in five weeks, and continuing operations became unsafe and economically unfeasible.

Before the war, the enterprise produced 4.9 million tons of steel per year, and sales in 2021 amounted to $4.1 billion. Since then, output has fallen by about two-thirds, and to keep operations going, the company has spent $500 million of its own reserves and another $700 million provided by the parent company.

During the war, ArcelorMittal has asked the Ukrainian authorities at least six times to provide protection for the plant. The publication says Kyiv did not have enough interceptors to repel Russian ballistic missiles, and in recent months it has almost run out of ammunition for Patriot systems.

Sources

• Material: ru.themoscowtimes.com