Steel production in Ukraine collapsed after shutdowns of major plants

In August 2026, Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises reduced steel production by 57.3% compared to the same month last year, down to 277 thousand tons. This is one of the lowest monthly figures since the beginning of the full-scale war, and in September the situation may worsen further due to the shutdown of major metallurgical enterprises after Russian attacks.

This is evidenced by data from the association of enterprises "Ukrmetalurgprom", cited by GMK Center.

Compared to July, steel smelting in Ukraine decreased by 39.4%.

Pig iron production fell even deeper. In August, Ukrainian enterprises produced 257.1 thousand tons – 65.6% less than a year earlier, and 40.5% less than in July.

Production of finished rolled metal amounted to 269.5 thousand tons. The annual indicator decreased by 57.4%, and compared to the previous month – by 29.6%.

Over eight months the decline remains double-digit

In January-August 2026, Ukrainian metallurgists smelted 4.3 million tons of steel, which is 12.5% less than in the same period last year.

Pig iron production during this time decreased by 14.8% – to 4.35 million tons, and finished rolled metal by 15.6%, to 3.59 million tons.

The sharp deterioration of August indicators occurred against the background of shutdowns of major metallurgical enterprises due to Russian strikes.

"Zaporizhstal" halted after missile strikes

In August, "Zaporizhstal" completely stopped operations after Russian ballistic missile strikes on August 11 and 27. Seven employees were killed and 21 people were injured.

As a result of the attacks, energy and transport facilities, as well as capacities of blast furnace and coke production, were damaged. Before the shutdown, the plant managed to smelt 46.2 thousand tons of steel in August.

In early September, the metallurgical plant "Kametstal" in Kamianske also came under attack. After the strike with several ballistic missiles on September 5, the enterprise completely halted production processes. Five people were killed, four more employees were injured, and key production facilities and infrastructure were damaged.

Chief analyst of GMK Center Andriy Tarasenko noted that the August result became one of the lowest in the history of Ukrainian metallurgy. Less steel has been produced since the start of the full-scale war only in April and December 2022.

According to him, in the first half of August, the industry was pressured by problems with sea logistics and restrictions on supplies to the EU, and in the second half of the month, the situation sharply worsened due to the shutdown of large producers after Russian attacks. Because of this, smelting volumes may decline even further in September.

Additional problems for the Ukrainian mining and metallurgical complex remain complications in maritime exports, the European carbon adjustment mechanism CBAM, and restrictions on steel imports to the EU.

Based on materials: GMK Center, Ukrmetalurgprom