---
title: "Ukraine may lose over 7% of its economy due to the shutdown of metallurgy, - The New York Times"
description: "Ukraine's metallurgy has stalled due to infrastructure strikes, threatening the loss of over 7% of GDP and billions in tax losses by the end of the year."
date: 2026-10-14T10:50:01.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/ukraine-may-lose-7-percent-economy-metallurgy-shutdown-nyt
tags: [ukraine-economy, metallurgy, metinvest, war-impact, the-new-york-times]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Ukraine may lose over 7% of its economy due to the shutdown of metallurgy, - The New York Times

![Destroyed industrial facility and halted workshops of a Ukrainian metallurgical plant](https://xab.info/media/2026/10/14/ukraina-poteryaet-7-ekonomiki-iz-za-ostanovki-metallurgii-nyt/ukraina-poteryaet-7-ekonomiki-iz-za-ostanovki-metallurgii-nyt-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Ukraine's metallurgy accounts for over 7% of the country's economic production.
- Traffic through Odessa ports dropped by 95%, and in September, for the first time in 100 years, not a single ton of steel was smelted in a week.
- Budget losses by the end of the year due to the industry shutdown could reach 70-100 billion UAH.

Ukraine's metallurgical industry has found itself at the epicenter of an unprecedented crisis caused by systematic strikes on the country's critical infrastructure. According to an article by the authoritative publication The New York Times, Russian attacks on energy facilities, ports, railways, and the plants themselves have led to the de facto shutdown of the steel sector, which last year accounted for more than 7% of the state's total economic output.

### The Scale of Logistic and Production Collapse

 The situation at Metinvest, the country's largest mining and metallurgical holding, reflects the general catastrophic trend in the sector. The company's enterprises first faced the destruction of the energy system and rolling blackouts, and subsequently — the complete blockade of Black Sea ports. The ports of the Odessa region traditionally handled about 60% of Ukrainian exports, but in August and September 2026, cargo traffic collapsed by almost 95%. A telling indicator of the depth of the crisis was a historical anti-record: in September, for the first time in a hundred years, Ukraine's metallurgy did not produce a single ton of steel for an entire week.### Blow to City Budgets and Macroeconomics

 Metinvest Chief Operating Officer Oleksandr Myronenko confirmed the company's plans to reduce administrative staff, which will inevitably affect single-industry towns that depend entirely on the operation of the plants. According to the state budget, in the first nine months of 2026, the Ukrainian treasury has already under-received about 49.5 billion UAH in taxes. By the end of the year, losses could rise to 70 billion UAH, and in a pessimistic scenario — up to 100 billion UAH. This creates colossal risks for the financial stability of the entire country, given that over the past five years, leading metallurgical enterprises have replenished budgets at all levels by more than 200 billion UAH.### Contradictory Data

Despite the general consensus on the deep crisis and production dropping to zero in certain weeks, analysts' estimates regarding the timeline for the industry's recovery vary. Some Western analysts cited by The New York Times predict long-term degradation of industrial potential due to the systematic destruction of the energy base. At the same time, the management of domestic metallurgical giants points to the potential for partial resumption of operations provided protective structures are promptly built and electricity supplies are stabilized, although most investors have temporarily frozen large investment projects in Ukrainian metallurgy under current conditions.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Украина может потерять больше 7% экономики из-за остановки металлургии, - The New York Times](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/ukrayina-mozhe-vtratiti-ponad-7-ekonomiki-1791974498.html) - Основной источник данных о падении ВВП и аналитика NYT.
- [СЕО "Метинвеста" ставит под сомнение целесообразность инвестиций в украинскую металлургию из ...](https://ru.interfax.com.ua/news/economic/1216058.html) - Заявления руководства Метинвеста о заморозке инвестиций и проблемах.
- [Украинская металлургия оказалась в глубоком кризисе: все только начинается](https://inosmi.ru/20260826/ukraina-279864222.html) - Контекст кризиса и оценки логистических проблем.
- [Украина впервые за 100 лет не выплавила ни одной тонны стали за неделю, - Метинвест](https://www.unian.net/economics/other/ukraina-vpervye-za-100-let-ne-vyplavila-ni-odnoy-tonny-stali-za-nedelyu-metinvest-13513515.html) - Подтверждение исторического антирекорда по выплавке стали в сентябре.

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