‘If nothing is done, it’s almost inevitable’: Ukrainian Yuriy Ryzhenkov explains why the steel industry is on the brink of collapse as Russian bombing intensifies

Amid the flames and destruction, Ryzhenkov says this period of war is as harsh as anything the company has faced since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago.

“The seaport blockade is more severe today than it was in 2022,” Ryzhenkov, who became CEO in 2013, told me. “We have been hit many times. Our facilities have been hit over the last four and a half years, and even if we rehabilitated them after each hit, you lose. You become weaker with each such attack.”

“In war, you cannot afford to restore the original state. You do your best to continue operating and best is never ideal. Unfortunately, it was one of the most severe bombing campaigns in August and September of this year. We had to shut down both of our steel mills.

“We lost 14 people in our steel mills, which is probably the largest loss since 2023 in a single bombing. That’s where we are.”

Today, another threat looms over the future of steel production in Ukraine, and it comes not from the East, but from the European Union. In July, new tariffs were applied to all EU steel imports in a bid to protect the continent’s industry from cheaper foreign competition. The main steel tariff quota for Ukraine from July 2026 has been reduced by 60% and is expected to reduce Ukraine’s steel imports to the EU by 1.3 million tonnes per year, according to the GMK Center, a Ukrainian think tank.

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“If we compare the quotas allocated to Ukraine this year with those provided last year, they are minus 60% and this is happening at a time when the ports were already closed, and we literally have no other alternative,” explains Ryzhekov.

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“During the invasion, the EU realized that for Ukraine the only available market was actually the EU, with the port blockade. They removed all restrictions on the supply of steel, which was, in my opinion, the right response.

“And then all of a sudden, in the first half of this year, we got these quotas that basically let us down compared to every other country (outside the EU), and the fact that we had exceptional circumstances in terms of logistics, in terms of energy supply, in terms of staff availability, they were not taken into account at all, in my opinion.

“It was too hard, considering the circumstances.”

Negotiations are continuing and the EU has said it is aware that Ukraine is a unique case. But the pincer movement – ​​the armed invasion from the East and the tariffs from the West – leaves the Ukrainian steel industry in a perilous position. Between 2021 and 2025, steel production in Ukraine increased from 21 million tons to 7.4 million tons, the value of exports fell from $22 billion to $6 billion, and tax revenues fell from $3.5 billion to $870 million. Russia’s constant attacks on factories, energy supply systems and railways mean that the steel supply to Ukraine’s armed forces is also deteriorating.

“There is practically no future without a market to sell into,” says Ryzhenkov. “With the continued disruptions, it is very difficult to make a steel business economically viable. This is typically a business where you have to use more than 90% of your capacity to be profitable, even in normal times, and where you have to grow your markets with long-term commitments, and in the current circumstances that is simply not possible.”

I ask if we could see the end of steel production in Ukraine?

“Well, if nothing is done, it’s almost inevitable,” he said. “If Ukraine is not allowed to fully participate in the European market and at the same time circumstances preclude any meaningful investment, then I mean, everything will eventually end.”

Ryzhenkov comes from a long line of steelworkers. Her grandmother was a chemical engineer at a coal-fired power plant with close ties to the steel industry, and her mother, father and uncle all work in the industry. This family history comes with a great determination to continue despite losses and constant threats of new attacks.

“To be honest, it’s the only choice we have, right?” he told me. “Well, it’s not the only choice. I mean, obviously, you can slam the door and leave, but we have over 35,000 people who work for us with their families. We have 8,500 of our employees in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who also rely on us. So, I mean, why slam the door if you can still try to do something to keep going? I just can’t find a reason for me to do that.”