War has not stopped investment in Ukraine – the country’s leading companies are steadily supporting the economy

Despite more than two and a half years of full-scale war with Russia, Ukraine’s business sector continues to play a key role in sustaining the country’s economy. Companies are investing in cutting-edge technology, infrastructure and human resources, not only to meet their business objectives, but also out of concern for Ukraine’s future.

Before the war, the annual accumulation of fixed assets in Ukraine was around 700 billion hryvnia (over EUR 15,6 billion). Although the State Statistics Service of Ukraine (PSSU) does not currently publish new data, it is estimated that, despite the difficulties, this figure is still in the hundreds of billions of hryvnia. After an initial cut in non-core spending, many companies have resumed investment since late 2022, with the aim of accelerating the country’s economic recovery.

Industry, one of the most important sectors of the Ukrainian economy, suffered heavy losses as a result of the war. Before the outbreak of the war, it accounted for 21% of the country’s GDP and provided a large number of jobs. An example of a company that suffered significantly is Metinvest, a group involved in steel production and raw materials extraction. Despite the difficulties of the occupation and export problems, the group continues to invest heavily, allocating more than $300 million a year, including in joint ventures.

Thanks to its flexible approach, it adapts its investment plans and focuses on modernising existing facilities, such as the Pokrovske coal mine or the Zaporizhstal and Kamet steel mills, which underwent major renovations last year. In total, the Group has invested 23 billion hryvnias in the modernisation of these plants over the past two years.

As well as modernising its plants in Ukraine, the Group is also investing in projects abroad, such as the construction of a green steel plant in Italy. The new plant, with a capacity of 3 million tonnes per year, will strengthen the Group’s production capacity and support Ukrainian companies that have lost access to domestic markets due to war damage.

In the long term, the Group plans to invest around $9 billion in the green transformation of its Ukrainian operations, which will be a key step in the reconstruction of the country’s steel industry after the war. On an ongoing basis, Metinvest plans to invest $320 million in equipment and jobs by 2024 and a further $350 million in operations, focusing on overhauling and upgrading equipment at mining and processing plants.