Metallurgists ask for tax benefits and preservation of reservation after plant shutdowns

The Ukrainian metallurgical industry has found itself threatened with the loss of production capacity and skilled workers due to large-scale Russian attacks. In order to preserve enterprises, the industry needs tax reliefs and guarantees of staff reservation from mobilization.

This was stated by the President of the association of enterprises "Ukrmetalurgprom" Oleksandr Kalenkov in an interview with Ukrainian Radio, published on October 15.

According to him, since August, Russian troops have been systematically attacking Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises with ballistic and cruise missiles. As a result of the strikes, practically all blast furnaces that were still operating on the territory controlled by Ukraine were destroyed.

Kalenkov stated that in September, Ukrainian metallurgy did not produce any steel at all. He called the situation in the industry tragic and warned of the risk of losing the production potential that had been formed for over 150 years.

At the same time, this statement contradicts the previously published statistics of "Ukrmetalurgprom" itself.

According to calculations by GMK Center based on data from the industry association, in September 2026, Ukraine produced 131 thousand tons of steel. This is 52.7% less than in August, and approximately 78.5% less than in September last year.

Pig iron production decreased to 113 thousand tons, and rolled metal products – to 137 thousand tons. Thus, although steel smelting collapsed to one of the lowest figures in recent years, the claim of complete absence of production in September is not confirmed by published data.

The situation was worsened by the shutdown of the country's largest metallurgical enterprises. In August, after Russian missile strikes, "Zaporizhstal" stopped production. In September, "Kametstal" was shut down, and the international group ArcelorMittal reported on the impossibility of safely resuming production at the plant in Kryvyi Rih.

Kalenkov named the preservation of labor collectives as the main task for the industry. According to him, even during periods of downtime, enterprises need to retain employees, since after the war ends it will be difficult to restore lost production competencies.

For this purpose, he proposed to the government to consider temporary tax reliefs, in particular deferral or exemption from land tax and reduction of the tax burden on the payroll fund.

A separate problem is the possibility of enterprises losing the status of critically important for the economy. When production stops, employees receive lower wages without bonuses and extra payments. Because of this, enterprises may cease to meet the criteria necessary for reservation of conscripted employees.

Kalenkov called on the government to preserve the possibility of staff reservation even at enterprises that are temporarily not operating at full capacity.

According to him, representatives of ArcelorMittal are already negotiating with the Ukrainian authorities regarding support for the enterprise. Also, the industry hopes for possible financial assistance from the European Union.

The President of "Ukrmetalurgprom" warned that a prolonged shutdown of metallurgical enterprises could lead not only to a reduction in exports and foreign exchange earnings, but also to the loss of revenues for local budgets and jobs in related industries.

At the same time, specific government decisions regarding the proposed tax reliefs or changes to the reservation criteria have not yet been announced.

Sources: Ukrainian Radio, Ukrmetalurgprom, GMK Center