Ukraine's largest steelworks, "ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih," has begun preparations for a complete production shutdown due to Russian shelling. The enterprise plans to shut down its equipment and mothball its industrial facilities over the course of two months. The Moscow Times reports this, citing the corporate newspaper "Metalurh," writes UNN.
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The company's CEO, Mauro Longobardo, explained that the decision to carry out what is known as a cold shutdown was made to preserve the business and the possibility of resuming production in the future.
Our number one priority is to protect our people and industrial assets so that we can resume operations at the first opportunity
Russian attacks are paralyzing Ukraine's steel industry
According to the company's head, the ArcelorMittal group does not plan to leave Ukraine; however, the current security situation does not allow it to continue operations. The company has also decided to shut down the neighboring iron ore mine.
As the Financial Times previously reported, the plant came under four Russian attacks over five weeks. As a result of the shelling, five workers were killed and another 17 were injured.
Before the full-scale invasion, the steelworks produced 4.9 million tonnes of steel annually, but output subsequently fell by approximately two-thirds. According to the FT, Russian strikes also led to the shutdown of two other major steelmaking enterprises owned by the "Metinvest" company. Together, these three plants accounted for approximately 90% of Ukraine's steel production.
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