Zelensky's hometown will be left without a city-forming enterprise.
“ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih” is forced to stop the blooming shop in the second quarter of 2026. The reasons are the introduction of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) by the European Commission without exceptions and a transition period for Ukrainian producers and expensive electricity.
In fact, this means the loss of the European market for a significant part of Ukrainian metallurgical products, which critically affects production volumes and the loading of individual units, reported ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih. The company notes that after the onset of the full-scale war, it made considerable efforts to redirect sales to the EU market, which was built from scratch under extremely difficult conditions.
“However, the introduction of CBAM without regard to the realities of war, according to the enterprise’s assessment, has nullified these efforts and deprived the company of a stable European market,” said AMKR.
As a result, as noted by ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, the enterprise does not have sufficient order volumes to ensure the operation of blooming in both the short and medium term.
The company noted that the decision was influenced by the high cost of electricity in Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war, the price of electricity for industrial producers has more than doubled: from $135/MWh in 2024 to $210/MWh in January 2026. Due to electricity supply shortages, constant attacks on energy infrastructure, and the necessity to import electricity at high prices, the cost of production has significantly increased, making the operation of the shop economically unfeasible.
Context
The General Director of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, Mauro Longobardo, characterized 2025 as a period of survival and constant adaptation. According to him, the enterprise operated under conditions of constant military threats, attacks on energy infrastructure, electricity shortages, and unprecedented tariff burdens. Because of this, the company could not operate both blast furnaces stably as planned and was forced to repeatedly adjust the schedules of its main production units.
At the end of the year, an additional challenge was the introduction of the CBAM mechanism, which effectively turns into a tax and a barrier to the export of metal products to the EU. The full impact of this factor, according to the company, will be felt in 2026, emphasized Longobardo.
“ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih” is the largest producer of steel products in Ukraine, specializing in long products, particularly rebar and wire rod. The enterprise has a full production cycle and capacities to produce over 6 million tons of steel, 5 million tons of rolled products, and 5.5 million tons of pig iron annually.
In 2025, the metallurgical plant produced over 2.5 million tons of pig iron, which is 16.9% more than the previous year. Steel production increased by 2.3% and nearly reached 1.7 million tons, while rolled products increased by 1.4% to 1.56 million tons. The volume of coke production grew by 16.4% to 1.46 million tons.
At the same time, the mining segment finished the year with declining indicators: concentrate production amounted to 7.5 million tons, which is 3.3% less than in 2024, while ore extraction decreased by 4.2% to 18.4 million tons. The company explains this by restrictions in the mining department's operations due to unstable electricity supply.
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