“Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Metinvest has mobilised all its resources to support the defence forces, civilians and our employees while ensuring the resilience of the economy. We have endured these 1,000 days of war thanks to the dedication of each of our employees. Not only have we managed to preserve the Group, but we have also become a reliable pillar of support for the country. Today, our goals and actions remain steadfast: to do everything within our power to secure Ukraine’s victory and post-war recovery.”
Yuriy Ryzhenkov
CEO of Metinvest
Metinvest’s enterprises in Ukraine are operating under the constant threat of enemy shelling. The Group’s assets in Mariupol and Avdiivka have been affected by hostilities, and the cities are occupied. However, the Group’s other operations continue to function at varying levels of capacity utilisation, factoring in safety, staff availability, power supply, as well as logistical and economic factors.
In March-July 2024, Ukraine experienced electricity supply restrictions due to russian attacks and high demand for imported electricity. While the electricity supply situation stabilised in August, iron ore production remained constrained by adverse global market conditions.
The Group’s iron ore plants managed to increase production volumes year-on-year, aided by the reopening of Ukraine’s Black Sea navigation in August 2023 and a higher volume of pellet orders. During the first nine months of 2024, the iron ore plants achieved 52% of pre-war capacity utilisation, compared with 32% in the same period last year. Similarly, the steel plants increased their capacity utilisation to 75% of pre-war levels.
Despite the approach of the front line to Pokrovsk, where intense fighting and heavy shelling continue, Pokrovske Coal continues to operate and supply the Group’s assets with coking coal. The commissioning of an additional longwall has improved productivity and enhanced coal quality, enabling a gradual increase in coal concentrate production. Metinvest’s management monitors the security situation closely and takes every possible step to mitigate potential risks. To support miners’ families, the Group organises evacuations and accommodation of employees’ families in safer regions.
Metinvest’s overriding priority is the well-being of its employees. The Group's enterprises in Ukraine all have bomb shelters, stocked with water, food and medical supplies, ensuring they can sustain prolonged stays.
Since 1 June 2023, Metinvest introduced an additional bonus for employees at its manufacturing and repair facilities in Ukraine. The bonus can exceed 25% of an employee’s base salary, depending on team performance.
Since 1 May 2024, the Group increased salaries for the staff at its manufacturing and repair facilities in Ukraine. It applied a differentiated approach to salary reviews, ensuring that pay was indexed above the forecast inflation rate.
The business’ main focus during wartime is to work together with the entire country to achieve victory. This includes paying taxes, supporting the defence forces and the economy, and taking care of people. In total, from 2022 to September 2024, Metinvest, its associates and joint ventures paid UAH50.3 billion in taxes and duties to budgets at all levels in Ukraine. This is a vital contribution to supporting Ukraine’s economy and front-line regions.
During the war, Metinvest’s priority is to support Ukraine’s defence forces. The Group has spent more than UAH4.4 billion on this purpose as part of Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front defence initiative. Metinvest supplies its products to the military free of charge as a contribution to the defence of Ukrainian cities. Special attention is given to units in the south and east of the country, where the Group’s enterprises are located.
One of Metinvest’s most important developments is special mobile shelters: steel “hideouts” installed underground. There are already 651 of them protecting the lives of soldiers at various front-line locations. In addition, the Group is building command posts based on these “hideouts”. In autumn 2024, Ukraine’s first underground hospital was built. It is equipped with modern medical equipment and can treat more than 100 patients a day. The project cost exceeded UAH20 million.
Metinvest has also manufactured and supplied to the defence forces 246 steel screens to protect armoured vehicles from video-piloted drones, 61 “lancet catchers,” 63 shields for front-line vehicles and 23 mine trawls. The Group’s steel is also used to make armour plates for bulletproof vests, anti-tank hedgehogs, minibastions and mobile buggy vehicles used by the military.
Metinvest also works with Ukraine’s defence forces to support construction of defence lines. In addition to engaging its specialists, the Group provides materials and specialised equipment to hinder the enemy’s advance. Over 200 kilometres of fortifications have been built in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, including defence structures near Pokrovsk, one of the hottest spots on the front line.
Metinvest is one of the largest donors to the defence forces among private companies, having established systematic supplies of equipment to the front line. Ukrainian soldiers have already received 5,553 surveillance drones, 2,003 thermal imagers, 551 vehicles, including ambulances, and 1.5 million litres of fuel to refuel them. The Group has also supplied 31,500 first aid kits and tourniquets to the defence forces and supports the development of tactical medicine in Ukraine in cooperation with the PULSE charitable foundation.
Since the onset of the full-scale war in 2022, around 9,000 Metinvest employees, including those of joint ventures, have been mobilised. This is one of the largest numbers among Ukrainian companies. Some of the veterans have already returned from the front and started to work at the Group. To support defence personnel in their adaptation to civilian life, Metinvest is implementing a comprehensive veteran reintegration ecosystem. It is based on the principles of responsibility, consistency and internal justice. The work begins at the stage of employee mobilisation: the Group assists employees in preparing for service and purchasing the necessary equipment, keeps in touch with them during their time at the service and helps to meet their basic needs.
Metinvest is ready to employ both returning employees and veterans hired from the labour market. It has 4,000 vacancies in engineering and technical fields. If required, veterans can access training, retraining or higher education at the Metinvest Polytechnic metals and mining university on preferential terms. Physical and psychological rehabilitation is also available at the Group’s expense and teams are trained to support reintegrating colleagues.
Metinvest supports the creation of spaces for veterans in the regions where it operates. These include the “Free Waves” initiative in Zaporizhzhia and Kryvyi Rih, which provides free swimming sessions for military personnel and war veterans, as well as the “Communicate. Veteran” project, a platform for open dialogue between veterans and experts from various fields.
Metinvest’s military veteran support programme has been recognised as one of the best in Ukraine by independent experts. In particular, it earned a place among the top eight finalists in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion category at the Reuters: Sustainability Awards 2024 for its “Hero’s Path: Metinvest’s Ecosystem for Integrating Veterans” project.»
To overcome workforce shortages partly caused by mobilisation, Metinvest offers free retraining so that employees can learn new skills to supplement their primary profession. The Group also supports gender equality and the professional adaptation of women, who account for almost 30% of the workforce at its Ukrainian enterprises. They are gradually learning specialties that were traditionally viewed as male roles. For example, Metinvest’s Pokrovske Coal has established its first all-female team operating complex machinery.
Another priority for Metinvest in times of war is the well-being of its employees, their families and local communities. As part of the Saving Lives humanitarian initiative launched at the onset of the full-scale invasion, 516,000 civilians have received assistance.
Thanks to donors and partners, around 4,200 tonnes of food, personal care products and other essentials have been delivered to Ukraine. Medicines and equipment worth UAH9.5 million have been provided to hospitals. Another important aspect of the work is the physical and psychological recovery of military personnel and civilians. As part of the prosthetics, rehabilitation and surgical programme, 136 Ukrainian defenders and civilians have received assistance. Nearly 2,670 women and children affected by the war have achieved improved mental health outcomes.
To support local communities during the war, Metinvest continues to fulfil the commitments set out in its memorandums on social and economic partnership.
This year, Metinvest allocated resources to rebuild an outpatient clinic, repair damaged roads, re-roof a kindergarten and gymnasium, and restore water supply for residents of the Hlevuvatska community in the Dnipro region. In Kamianske, the Group helped to renovate the community's largest healthcare facilities. In autumn, the city opened a renovated trauma unit at Hospital No. 9 and a clinical diagnostic laboratory at the emergency hospital.
While ensuring the operation of its enterprises and helping the country during the war, Metinvest is also planning for the future. The strategic focus for the future includes the post-war recovery of Ukraine. The Group has already presented “Steel Dream”, a concept for rebuilding housing and social infrastructure. In addition, Metinvest continues to work on implementing its green transformation strategy.