Metinvest, Ukraine's largest steel producer, has suspended operations at its Pischane coal plant near the front-line town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, the company announced in a statement on Dec. 12.
The closure comes amid an increasingly dangerous Russian advance towards Pokrovsk, a key Ukrainian logistics hub. Ukraine lost key positions near the town to advancing Russian troops over the past day.
Metinvest said it was closing the Pokrovsk site, which includes a mine and an administrative building, due to intensified shelling in the area. The company also said the front line was expanding and moving closer to the mine.
Core personnel have been evacuated along with their families, the statement said.
Metinvest will continue to monitor the security situation alongside local authorities, the company said. Decisions regarding the plant will be made as the situation on the frontline evolves.
Pischane is the largest coking coal producer in Ukraine, and one of the largest in Eastern Europe. The site provided half of Metinvest's coal volume, used to produce steel at the company's many plants. Loss of the mine would be a major blow to Ukraine's steel production industry.
The closure of the plant could diminish Ukrainian steel production to only 2-3 million metric tons, down from a projected 7.5 million by the end of 2024, Oleksandr Kalenkov, the head of Ukraine's steelmakers' association, said on Oct. 16.
The Metinvest steel company has already faced significant losses amid Russia's war against Ukraine. The company lost the infamous Azovstal plant in the early days of the full-scale invasion. The plant was the last line of defense for Ukrainian troops against the Russian occupation of Mariupol.
Steel production is one of Ukraine's leading industries, and the second-largest source of foreign currency after agriculture.
Kateryna Denisova
(Updated: )
