KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine maintained steel production growth in the first four months of 2025 despite the loss of the coking coal mine in Pokrovsk in the eastern part of the country, data from the Ukrainian steel producers’ union showed on Friday.
Ukrainian steelmaker Metinvest suspended operations at Ukraine’s only coking coal mine, citing a deteriorating security situation as Russian forces advanced.
Raw steel output rose by 1% in January-April to 2.43 million metric tons from 2.40 million in the same period of 2024, the data showed.
Steel production has suffered since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, which has led to the destruction of leading steel plants.
Ukraine, formerly a major steel producer and exporter, reported a 70.7% drop in output in 2022 to 6.3 million tons. It fell to 6 million tons in 2023 but increased to 7.58 million in 2024.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
