ArcelorMittal is unable to safely restart operations at ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih following multiple recent missile strikes, the steel company said in a Sept. 25 statement.
Over the past five weeks, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih has been hit by four missile strikes, resulting in fatalities, injuries and extensive damage to production facilities.
In total, the attacks claimed five lives and injured 17 employees, ArcelorMittal said, adding that it had advised the Ukrainian government that the company was unable to restart operations at its Ukrainian subsidiary in a safe and sustainable manner.
“Since the war started, our people in Ukraine have worked tirelessly to keep the mines and plant operating. They have been the embodiment of bravery in circumstances most of us cannot begin to imagine,” ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih CEO Mauro Longobardo said in the statement.
The company is discussing the plant’s future with the Ukrainian government and will focus on preserving its infrastructure so that, when peace returns, options for restarting production remain available, Longobardo said.
ArcelorMittal expects to record a non-cash impairment charge of about $1 billion, principally reflecting the impairment of property, plant and equipment at ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih.
The statement follows a Russian ballistic missile strike overnight Sept. 21-22 on another steel plant, belonging to Ukrainian steel pipe and railroad products manufacturer Interpipe, which said its industrial facility in Dnipro halted production after key equipment and infrastructure were damaged.
Since mid-August, Russia has used missiles to strike several major Ukrainian steel mills, including Zaporizhstal, Kametstal and the Dnipro Metallurgical Plant, forcing them to suspend operations.
Intensified attacks on Ukrainian steel plants, infrastructure and logistics have already affected Ukraine’s ferrous metals business. In August, the country’s pig iron exports fell to 34 metric tons, down from 51,530 mt in July and 196,890 mt a year-earlier. Shipments of semi-finished carbon steel products declined by more than 70% both month over month and year over year to 26,000 mt.
