Loss of Pokrovsk would severely impact Ukrainian steel industry – Ukrmetalurgprom

If Ukraine loses control of Pokrovsk, the country could see up to a 50% reduction in steel production due to a coal shortage, according to Oleksandr Kalenkov, president of the Ukrmetalurgprom association, as reported by Ekonomichna Pravda.

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"Over the past two years [of the full-scale invasion], we've been producing 6-6.5 million tons of steel. This year, we could reach 7.5 million tons. If we lose Pokrovsk, that number could drop to 2-3 million tons," Kalenkov said.

He added that while Ukraine has the resources to produce up to 12 million tons of steel annually in the territories it still controls, losing Pokrovsk would significantly undermine this capacity.

Kalenkov said that Pokrovsk hosts Ukraine's only remaining coal mine producing coking coal, essential for steel production. Losing Pokrovsk would create a serious shortage of this coal.

Earlier in September, Bloomberg reported that if Ukraine loses control of the Pokrovske mine, the country’s largest producer of coking coal and part of the Metinvest Group, Ukrainian steelmakers may be forced to import coal.

Metinvest, owned by Ukraine's richest man, Rinat Akhmetov, reassured that the Pokrovske mine remains operational and expressed confidence that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will defend Pokrovsk from the Russian advance, according to Bloomberg.

In an interview with Forbes Ukraine, Metinvest CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov said that the mine is located west of Pokrovsk, close to the border with Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and near the frontlines.

"We believe that Ukraine’s defense forces will defend Pokrovsk and stop the Russian advance. [...] Even if we were to lose Pokrovsk, we would not stop. We can buy coal from DTEK, Poland and our mines in the US, as well as import coke. This would not be painless and would be a blow to the Ukrainian economy," Ryzhenkov stated.