Metinvest Group – Izabela Świątkowska
– From the first day of the full-scale invasion – and for four years of relentless resistance – we have been living and operating in the reality of a great war. Despite all the challenges of this period, Metinvest has not only survived but has become a reliable pillar of support for Ukraine. We continue to produce and pay taxes, support the defense forces and civilian population, and care for our employees. During this period, UAH 10.1 billion (over PLN 830 million) was spent on state support. However, our greatest strength lies not in numbers, but in our people – in the responsibility, professionalism, and inner resilience of every employee who works daily towards our common goal: victory and the future reconstruction of the country – said Yuriy Ryzhenkov, CEO of Metinvest Group.
Production and investments despite the war
Over four years of full-scale war, Metinvest has suffered some of the greatest losses among major industrial enterprises in Ukraine. The Group lost operational control over its assets in Mariupol and Avdiivka and suspended operations in Pokrovsk.
The remaining production facilities in Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih, and Kamianske continue to operate at various capacity levels, taking into account safety, energy, logistical, and economic factors.
Crucially, Poland plays a role in ensuring the continuity of Metinvest’s metallurgical plants by supplying Ukraine with coking coal essential for steel production. According to data from the State Customs Service of Ukraine, in January-November 2025, Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises increased imports of coke and semi-coke (HS 2704) by 3.2 percent compared to the same period in 2024, reaching 642.8 thousand tons. The majority of supplies during these 11 months came from Poland – amounting to 602.01 thousand tons.
Despite numerous challenges, the Group continues to systematically invest in Ukraine’s economy and its own operations. According to the European Business Association (EBA), Metinvest was among the largest Ukrainian investors during the war in the “Investment Leaders” ranking.
Metinvest continues the green transformation of its production. Together with its partners, the Group is implementing the construction of the Metinvest Adria steel plant in Italy, which will operate using Ukrainian raw materials in the future and strengthen cooperation between Ukraine and the European Union.
Another step towards European integration was the acquisition of a pipe factory in Romania with an annual production capacity of 240 thousand tons. Rolled steel for pipe production at Metinvest Tubular Iași will be supplied by the Zaporizhstal joint venture.
At the same time, in Ukraine, Metinvest launched a large-scale program to increase the production of DR pellets for green steel production and high-quality raw materials for pig iron production. At Northern Iron Ore in Kryvyi Rih, the group plans to build a flotation complex for high-quality concentrate production and modernize the pellet production line, including the LURGI 552-A pelletizing machine.
Metinvest remains one of the largest taxpayers in Ukraine: in 2025 alone, the group and its joint ventures paid UAH 18.7 billion (PLN 1.55 billion) in taxes to budgets of all levels. Since 2022, Metinvest has allocated approximately UAH 74 billion (PLN 6.14 billion) to support the country’s economy.
Support for the armed forces
Over four years of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Metinvest has allocated UAH 7.3 billion (over PLN 605 million) to support the Ukrainian army as part of Rinat Akhmetov’s “Steel Front” initiative, making it one of the largest contributions by Ukrainian business to the fight against the enemy. The Group is one of the largest private donors to the Ukrainian defense forces.
From the first days of the war, steel products manufactured by Metinvest have served as a means of supporting the Ukrainian army. One of the Group’s most important achievements was the creation of mobile shelters – reinforced steel structures that are buried underground and serve as both protection from the enemy and field shelters for soldiers. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Group has supplied 900 such shelters to Ukraine’s defenders.
Based on these structures, Metinvest established command posts and built two underground field hospitals along the front line. The first of these facilities, which has already saved the lives of approximately 4,000 soldiers, received an international award from the UN Global Compact in Ukraine.
Metinvest created the country’s first underground training center for the military. In Borodianka, in the Kyiv region, the Group built a new type of steel shelter for civilians – the “Citadel.” These modular structures can be easily adapted for schools, hospitals, industrial plants, residential areas, and frontline zones.
The Group also began producing steel protective screens for military equipment, including Abrams, Bradley, T-64, T-72, and MT-LB models. Soldiers have already received 309 protective screens and shields.
Furthermore, Metinvest contributed to demining efforts: the Group’s specialists began producing mine trawlers designed for installation on tanks. A total of 31 such systems have been delivered to the front line.
The Group’s steel is used to produce a wide range of defensive elements, including steel plates for bulletproof vests, Lancet drone catchers, anti-tank hedgehogs, mini-bastions, and mobile buggy vehicles.
Metinvest also supplies the defense forces with reconnaissance, observation, communication, and power equipment. In particular, the military received 8,337 reconnaissance drones, 2,088 thermal imaging cameras and optical devices for precise observation, 765 emergency power supply systems, 875 communication devices, and 795 vehicles, including ambulances. To power them, the Group supplied 1.55 million liters of fuel.
In 2025, one of the largest drone deliveries, worth UAH 214 million (almost PLN 18 million), was made to the 1st National Guard Corps of Ukraine “Azov.” In total, last year Metinvest’s support for Azov units amounted to UAH 600 million (nearly PLN 50 million).
Investment in employees and national reconstruction
Metinvest is one of the largest private employers of veterans in Ukraine. Over ten years of war, 11,000 of the Group’s employees have served in the armed forces, and about a thousand of them have already returned to work at Metinvest enterprises. The Group is ready to employ both demobilized team members and veterans from the broader labor market.
Metinvest has created a comprehensive support ecosystem for veterans, which begins at the moment of mobilization and continues after employees return from the front line, helping them adapt to civilian life and work. The ecosystem covers five key areas: psychological and physical rehabilitation, social support, professional adaptation and retraining, preparation of managers and teams for the return of colleagues, and assistance for mobilized employees and their families. In 2025, the Group allocated a total budget of 550,000 dollars for veteran reintegration programs.
Currently, approximately 4,000 engineering and technical vacancies are available at the Group’s enterprises. Metinvest offers employees the opportunity to retrain for free and obtain additional qualifications, including at Metinvest Polytechnic. In 2025, over 150 prospective bachelor’s and master’s students enrolled at the university, as well as 94 vocational students who were admitted for the first time. Among the new students are 26 war veterans, including Metinvest employees and Mariupol defenders.
The Group continues to care for the well-being of its employees and their families. The Group supported the evacuation and initial resettlement of employees from Mariupol, Avdiivka, and Pokrovsk. It also helps those who remained in frontline regions by rebuilding homes destroyed by shelling. In particular, Zaporizhstal allocated almost PLN 500,000 to support employees whose homes were destroyed.
The company continues to invest in the development of the regions where it operates and in improving community well-being. Despite all the challenges it has faced since 2022, the Group has spent UAH 1.4 billion (over PLN 115,000) on supporting infrastructure, education, healthcare, and charitable projects.
While supporting the state and Ukrainians during the war, the Group also invests in the future. At the end of 2025, construction of housing for internally displaced persons from Mariupol began in Bila Tserkva as part of a new government initiative. The project envisages the construction of a complex of 16 buildings with 1,000 apartments using steel frame construction technology promoted under Metinvest’s “Steel Dream” concept. This approach will reduce construction time and costs, with the first buildings expected to be completed within a year.
Metinvest
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of steel and mining companies that manages every link in the value chain, from iron ore and coal mining and processing to the production and sale of semi-finished and finished steel products. It includes steel production and mining facilities located in Ukraine, the EU, the UK, and the USA, as well as a sales network covering all key global markets, including Poland.
