Steel production in Ukraine in September fell almost fivefold
Steel production in Ukraine in September 2026 decreased by 78.5% compared to the same month last year - to 131 thousand tons. Compared to August, smelting decreased by another 53%. This was a consequence of the large-scale reduction in operations of Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises after Russian missile strikes.
This is evidenced by new data from the association of enterprises "Ukrmetalurgprom", published on October 9, reports Forbes Ukraine.
Even deeper was the drop in pig iron production. In September, Ukrainian enterprises produced only 113 thousand tons - 83.5% less than a year earlier, and 56% less than in August.
Rolled metal production decreased to 137 thousand tons. This is 77% lower than the September 2025 figure and 49% less than in the previous month.
Metallurgy results for nine months
The worsening September indicators significantly affected the industry's results since the beginning of the year.
From January to September 2026, Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises produced:
- 4.46 million tons of pig iron - 22.9% less than in the same period of 2025;
- 4.43 million tons of steel - a reduction of 19.8%;
- 3.73 million tons of rolled metal - a decrease of 23%.
For comparison, in the first nine months of 2025, Ukrainian enterprises smelted 5.79 million tons of pig iron and 5.52 million tons of steel, and rolled metal production amounted to 4.84 million tons.
Thus, over a year, Ukrainian metallurgy lost more than a million tons of production in each of the three main product categories.
Russian strikes stopped the largest steel mills
The current decline became a continuation of the negative trend that intensified in August after a series of Russian strikes on enterprises of the mining and metallurgical complex of Ukraine.
In particular, after missile attacks on August 11 and 27, "Zaporizhstal" completely stopped production. The strikes damaged important production facilities and infrastructure of the enterprise. In early September, "Kametstal" in Kamianske also suffered from a Russian attack.
Another blow to the industry was the shutdown of the country's largest metallurgical enterprise - "ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih".
On September 25, the international group ArcelorMittal announced that it cannot safely and stably resume production at the plant after four missile strikes within five weeks.
According to the company, the last attack occurred on September 21. In total, as a result of the four strikes, five people died and 17 employees were injured. The production infrastructure sustained significant damage.
ArcelorMittal announced that it will focus on preserving the industrial site in order to retain the possibility of resuming production after the security situation improves. The company also expects non-cash asset write-offs of approximately $1 billion.
Consequences for the Ukrainian economy
The decline in metallurgical production is already affecting the overall indicators of Ukrainian industry.
According to the State Statistics Service, in August 2026, the volume of metallurgical production decreased by 48.6% year-on-year, and compared to July - by 35.2%. This became one of the main factors in the deterioration of the overall industrial production index.
In September, the situation in the industry worsened even more. In addition to direct losses of enterprises, the reduction in steel smelting and rolled metal production threatens to decrease export revenue, budget revenues, and the workload of related industries - from railway transportation to iron ore mining.
Earlier, the operating director of Metinvest group, Oleksandr Myronenko, stated that the contribution of metallurgy to Ukraine's GDP, which before the full-scale invasion reached 7%, may now be close to zero. At the same time, this is an estimate by a company representative, not an official calculation by the State Statistics Service.
Sources: Public Association "Ukrmetalurgprom", Forbes Ukraine, ArcelorMittal
