Zaporizhzhia steelworks shut indefinitely after repeated Russian missile strikes

Ukraine's Zaporizhstal steelworks has been shut down indefinitely after four waves of Russian missile attacks in August and September, according to the company. The plant, in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, was hit repeatedly despite efforts to restart operations after earlier damage. The attacks have left the site severely damaged and raised fresh concerns about the future of one of Ukraine's most important industrial employers.

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The company said Russia fired a total of 17 missiles at the steelworks. Eight workers were killed and 31 others were wounded in the strikes, according to Oleksandr Myronenko, chief operating officer of the plant's owner, Metinvest. Denys Maksyshko, a worker at the factory, said the equipment had been almost completely destroyed, with no windows left and holes in the roofs.

He said the blast furnaces had been almost completely ruined. Zaporizhstal employs about 8,500 people and has long been a major source of jobs in Zaporizhzhia. The plant's closure is a significant blow to the city and to Ukraine's wider metallurgy sector, which has been under sustained pressure since the attacks began in August.

Myronenko said the company was now clearing rubble and trying to plan recovery, but added that it was far from certain the plant would ever restart. The strikes matter beyond the factory itself because metallurgy has been one of Ukraine's key export industries. Before Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, metallurgy and mining accounted for roughly 10% of Ukraine's gross domestic product and about a third of its exports, while supporting more than half a million jobs.

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Myronenko said the sector's contribution to GDP was now probably close to zero, reflecting the scale of disruption caused by the attacks. The damage also highlights the vulnerability of industrial infrastructure in a war that has increasingly targeted economic assets. Myronenko said the attacks appeared aimed at stopping Ukraine's economy, cutting export earnings and reducing the state's ability to pay taxes and wages.

He said the campaign had been effective so far, with all of the company's steelworks now out of action. Zaporizhstal has been central to the city's identity for generations, and workers described it as the heart of Zaporizhzhia. The plant's shutdown therefore carries both economic and social consequences for a city that has relied heavily on heavy industry.

The repeated strikes also suggest a broader pattern of pressure on Ukraine's metallurgical plants, which have been hit several times in recent months. What remains unclear is whether the plant can be repaired and brought back into production, or whether the damage is too extensive for a restart. The company has not given a timetable for recovery, and the extent of the long-term impact on jobs, output and exports is still uncertain.

The next developments to watch are any further assessment of the damage, the condition of the injured workers and whether other industrial sites face similar attacks.

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