Ukrainian mining and steel group Metinvest has announced a complete halt of operations at its Zaporizhstal steel plant in Zaporizhzhia, following a Russian ballistic missile strike that targeted the company's industrial site on August 13, 2026. The attack resulted in seven employee deaths and left 21 others injured. The strike caused substantial damage to Metinvest's production facilities in Zaporizhzhia, crippling energy units and infrastructure, as well as both primary and auxiliary systems at the company's coke and blast furnace operations.
Zaporizhstal is a major steel producer with significant export capacity. According to official Metinvest data, the plant has an annual basic pig iron (BPI) production capacity of up to 4 million metric tons, with the majority of BPI exports traditionally destined for the US market. The facility is also a major producer of flat steel, capable of producing up to 3.6 million metric tons of hot-rolled products and 1.2 million metric tons of cold-rolled products annually.
The complete shutdown is expected to significantly disrupt Ukraine's exports of basic pig iron and flat steel. BPI supplies to the US market and finished steel shipments to European destinations are particularly affected. Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, European countries have become the primary export destinations for the plant's flat steel output, following the realignment of Ukrainian trade routes.
Metinvest's other production sites in the Zaporizhzhia region are currently running at reduced capacity following the strike. Source: Asian Metal
Source: asianmetal.com