Kryvyi Rih, the sprawling industrial hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, once thrived as one of Ukraine’s economic heartlands. Today, it stands as a symbol of the country’s widening crisis. Russian missile strikes have fallen repeatedly on ArcelorMittal’s massive mining and steel complex, the city’s largest employer, forcing operations to a halt. Furnaces that burned day and night for decades are cold; trains that carried ore and steel no longer run. Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul does not mince words: “The situation is actually worse than anywhere else, apart from the front line itself.” For its six hundred thousand residents, and for the nation as a whole, the challenge is no longer just winning; it is surviving.
The Steel Industry Silenced, Revenues Collapse
What has happened in Kryvyi Rih is being repeated across Ukraine. Before the invasion, steel and related industries…
