Before the full-scale war, Metinvest Group accounted for 40% of Ukraine’s national steel exports and was the country’s largest private-sector employer.
In the early 2000s, Metinvest built a vertically integrated business by consolidating Ukraine’s leading mining and steelmaking enterprises and embarked on an international expansion. Over the following years, the company invested more than US$2 billion in environmental modernisation and established a university to train a new generation of engineers.
24 February 2022 changed everything. Russian aggression has caused direct damage worth US$3.5 billion to the company. Metinvest lost control of two key enterprises – Azovstal and Ilyich Steel Plant – in occupied Mariupol, which together accounted for almost half of its steelmaking capacity. In the beginning of 2025, due to the approach of the front line, it also had to suspend operations at Pokrovske Coal.
Despite its losses, the company has adapted its business to wartime realities and become one of the largest corporate donors to the state and the Armed Forces.
Supporting the economy in wartime
Metinvest remains one of Ukraine’s leading producers of steel and iron ore, accounting for a significant share of the country’s steel exports.
The company consistently ranks among the top ten taxpayers and is the largest such contributor among steelmakers.
etinvest’s key Ukrainian assets continue to operate in Kryvyi Rih, Kamianske and Zaporizhzhia. Thanks to the reopening of the Black Sea corridor, the company has managed to rebuild its logistics routes and resume its exports.
Metinvest is pursuing a dual-focus strategy: preserving and developing its Ukrainian assets while building new capacities in Europe. In addition to its existing plants in Italy, Bulgaria and the United Kingdom, the company plans to launch new production facilities in Piombino, Italy, in 2028.
The largest employer among industrial companies
Metinvest ranks among the top three largest employers in Ukraine, behind only Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways) and ATB (since late 2024). Before losing assets due to occupation, Metinvest was the country’s largest private employer for many years, with a workforce exceeding 100,000.
Metinvest is also the largest private employer of members of the defence forces in Ukraine. The company has built a comprehensive support system for veterans, covering both its own staff and those from other sectors.
To support reintegration, informal veterans’ communities operate at company enterprises, along with tailored programmes offering training, counselling, legal advice and psychological support. Employees can also retrain or upskill at Metinvest Polytechnic free of charge.
Investment in education
Metinvest Polytechnic – a technical university founded by the company – trains specialists for the modern industry, giving students hands-on experience at Group enterprises beginning in their first year of study.
Its programmes are licensed by Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science and cover a wide range of disciplines, including metallurgy, automation, IT, mining and modernisation management. The university also runs training courses for the professionals who will help restore war-affected communities.
Support for Ukraine’s Defence Forces
Since the beginning of the war, Metinvest has systematically supported the state across multiple fronts. Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front of is the largest private initiative to assist Ukraine’s Armed Forces. Metinvest and other companies in the SCM group design and supply upgraded bunkers, armour, electronic warfare (EW) equipment, vehicles, drones, fortifications and other essential resources. Operations are based on direct feedback received from the front line.
Armour plates for bulletproof vests were among the initiative’s first projects
Bunker shelters of various designs serve as troop shelters and command posts
Steel anti-drone screens for different types of equipment increase survivability under intense combat
Mine trawls help tanks safely clear minefield
Humanitarian initiatives and community support
Together with the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, Metinvest launched the Saving Lives humanitarian initiative in the first days of the full-scale invasion. It provides food, medicines and hygiene products to adults, children, people with disabilities and pensioners in the hardest-hit areas.
Medical support includes the supply of medicines, equipment and consumables to hospitals. Dedicated programmes offer psychological assistance to women and children, as well as prosthetics and rehabilitation for wounded soldiers and civilians.
Metinvest is also implementing a large-scale programme to support Ukrainian communities where the company has operations. This year, the Group will allocate UAH 70 million to social infrastructure in Kamianske (Dnipropetrovsk region), while Metinvest’s Kryvyi Rih mining assets will direct over UAH 80 million in 2025 to support six communities across Dnipropetrovsk and Kirovohrad regions.
In 2023, Metinvest began repairs of the outpatient and radiology units of Kryvyi Rih City Hospital No. 3, investing nearly UAH 125 million. This summer, a major overhaul of the main inpatient building of Kryvyi Rih City Hospital No. 7 was also started, with UAH 61.6 million allocated for design, construction, roofing and façade works.
Helping people who have lost their homes
Steel Dream is a comprehensive concept for rebuilding Ukraine that combines speed of construction, innovative technologies and adaptability to meet the needs of specific communities. Metinvest has developed more than 200 ready-made building designs: residential buildings ranging from one to eight storeys, schools, kindergartens, clinics and sports complexes. The project is already being implemented in Kyiv and Rivne regions.