Russian missile strikes have knocked out three of\u00a0Ukraine\u2019s largest steel plants, putting the country\u2019s entire steel industry at\u00a0risk, the Financial Times reported in\u00a0an\u00a0article examining how Russian attacks are battering Ukraine\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n
Russia struck the plants with ballistic missiles in\u00a0early September, hitting facilities in\u00a0the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Two belong to\u00a0the metallurgical and mining company Metinvest, while the third is\u00a0an\u00a0ArcelorMittal factory. The strikes killed 17 workers.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs\u00a0of\u00a0today, [Ukraine] doesn\u2019t have a\u00a0steel industry any more,\u201d Oleksandr Vodoviz head of\u00a0the CEO\u2019s office at\u00a0Metinvest, told\u00a0FT. He\u00a0said Russian forces \u201cknew exactly where to\u00a0hit,\u201d targeting the plants\u2019 blast furnaces.<\/p>\n
Metinvest and ArcelorMittal said their plants together account for 90% of\u00a0Ukraine\u2019s steel production. Vodovyz said the facilities employ more than 15,000 people and that halting output could seriously damage other sectors of\u00a0the economy, as\u00a0well as\u00a0tax revenue. \u201cRight now we\u00a0do\u00a0not understand how long it\u00a0will take to\u00a0make the repairs, days, weeks, months or\u00a0years,\u201d he\u00a0added.<\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s armed forces have been targeting Ukraine\u2019s railway infrastructure, factories, warehouses, and shopping centers since the start of\u00a0the full-scale war, and the intensity of\u00a0the strikes has increased in\u00a0recent months.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said the country could lose about $1.5 billion in\u00a0tax revenue because of\u00a0the Russian attacks.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said<\/a> earlier that the country\u2019s military budget deficit stands at\u00a027 billion euros, and he\u00a0has asked allies for additional funding. His request \u201csurprised and unsettled\u201d many European officials in\u00a0August, The New York Times reported.<\/p>\n At\u00a0Meduza, we\u00a0are committed to\u00a0transparency about our use of\u00a0artificial intelligence in\u00a0the newsroom. The story you\u2019re reading was written by\u00a0one of\u00a0our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an\u00a0AI\u00a0model configured to\u00a0follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is\u00a0the result of\u00a0extensive testing and refinements to\u00a0ensure our English-language coverage is\u00a0timely and accurate. A\u00a0Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.<\/p>\n If\u00a0you find any errors in\u00a0this translation, please contact us\u00a0at\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n