The Russian invasion of Ukraine came as an unprecedented shock for the local steel industry. Most Ukrainian steel plants suspended their operations and set the equipment to the hot conservation mode, the issue of safety came first. Steel plants cannot work during shell, which poses a threat to the lives of workers and production facilities.
At the same time, logistical problems arose. Since the beginning of the war Ukrainian seaports have been unavailable because Russian warships blocked the Black Sea, in addition to the risk of mines. In fact, there was only one direction left for the export from Ukraine – to the EU by railway. Export opportunities to the EU are limited by the capacity of border crossings.
The war has disrupted supply chains. According to our estimations, 90% of steel capacities are not operating now. Some enterprises are trying to resume production and increase volumes, but it is difficult due to downtime of other plants in the supply chain. In particular, most coking plants have stopped production.
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