It is deserted at the entrance to the giant steelworks, but the smog that hangs over Kamjanske testifies that some kind of work is still going on in the industrial area. But what happens inside the gates is secret.
From the 1880s onwards, the blast furnaces have been running hot here. Ton after ton of steel has been loaded onto railcars and shipped on to all of Ukraine and Europe. But since the beginning of autumn, no steel is produced in Kamjanske.
Russian missiles and Shahed drones knocked out several vital parts of the facility in attacks that claimed the lives of several workers.
We are driven into the area in a minibus with black garbage bags taped over the windows and dropped off at one of the ovens destroyed in the attack. Every pipe that should supply the device with hot air has been torn apart by shrapnel. The top of the furnace has collapsed and a dull metallic sound indicates the risk of further collapse.
- Right now we are just clearing away here and preparing for renovation, we can't get close. It will cost tens of millions of dollars, says the steel mill's chairman Oleksandr Tretyakov.
He does not want to say how the work might go.
- If you start with major repairs with large machines, it is immediately visible to Russian drones and satellites. Therefore, everything must be done step by step.
The steel mills and mines are often described as the backbone of the Ukrainian economy. Before the full-scale invasion, the heavy industry sector accounted for over ten percent of Ukraine's total GDP. By 2025, that figure had been halved. By September 2026, total steel production had fallen by over 80 percent in the country.
In Kamjanske, the production stop means millions of kroner in loss every week and for the Metinvest group the situation is critical. Even in Zaporizhzhya, the steel mill has been forced to close due to Russian robot attacks.
Now the company is faced with thousands of employees who cannot perform their jobs. At the same time, it cannot get rid of people, as there is a risk of losing the specialist skills needed to rebuild Ukraine after the war.
- If we lose the employees, the money doesn't matter. Then we can never get the works started, says Oleksandr Tretyakov.
Tillfälligt försöker stålverket lösa situationen med sänkta löner för de som inte kan jobba och genom att engagera så många som möjligt av arbetarna i renovering och sanering.
In many of the cities in the east still under Ukrainian control, industry has been vital to keeping communities alive. Almost half of the 200,000 inhabitants of Kamjanske have some kind of connection to Kametstal. Either they work at the plant or they have a close family member who does.
In addition, tax revenue from the steel mill accounts for large parts of the municipal budget. Last year, Kametstal paid the equivalent of SEK 430 million in taxes in Kamjanske.
To survive in the short term, Kametstal and parent company Metinvest are appealing to allied countries for special reconstruction aid similar to that available for the Ukrainian energy sector. In addition, it is hoped that tariffs against the EU will be temporarily abolished.
- Direct financial aid is temporary, it is not sustainable in the long term. But it would help us in the situation here and now.
For many of Ukraine's industries, it all starts with the raw material from Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown and one of Europe's most important iron ore fields.
Here, large-scale mining takes place in four deep underground mines and in nine open pits. Around the city, dozens of huge gray rock piles rise up, coloring everything in their vicinity rust brown.
The people from here are often jokingly asked if even the sparrows are red in Kryvyi Rih.
49-year-old Aljona Kvasnevska has been working in the Sucha Balka underground mine for more than a decade, but she finds it difficult to accept that it has been so long.
Her task is to load the shaft elevators with equipment before the 1,500-metre journey down the mountain.
The traces of the oxidized iron can be seen on her shoes and clothes. She clasps her hands in her lap and screws up a bit when she has to describe the conditions in the mine.
- It's twelve hours of hard work, but you do what you can to earn money in these times.
She smiles gently and shakes her head when I ask if there is anything about the work tasks that she appreciates.
Just like the steel mills, Ukraine's mines are targets of Russian airstrikes. Even if the industry where Aljona Kvasnevska works has managed so far, it is always a stress when the air traffic alert goes off.
- I think everyone is scared. Every shift there is concern for ourselves and for colleagues and all relatives who also work in the mines.
It is not only the direct robot impacts that can mean life-threatening risks for the miners in Kryvyi Rih. The business is dependent on a stable electricity supply and a power cut can knock out both the elevators and the ventilation.
Aljona Kvasnevska got her current job in connection with a divorce. She is a trained economist, but saw the mine as an opportunity to get a more stable income. That has also been the reality for residents here for a long time – there have always been jobs underground.
Now that is about to change. World market prices for iron ore are falling, which is causing problems for mining giants such as LKAB in Sweden. It also has an effect in Ukraine. Add to that that steel mills and other industries in the country cannot produce their products, and thus cannot buy as much iron ore.
- The industry is more dead than alive, says Serhij Lopatin who is vice chairman of the underground mine.
The energy crisis in Ukraine means that production in the mine can run at half speed at best. In addition, there is a major shortage of locomotives in the country following Russian attacks on the railway. This makes it difficult for the mine to deliver to Europe, where the customers are in addition to the domestic market.
- Now we have to cut all costs and all investments have been put on hold. What we really needed to do to compete when world market prices go down is to increase production.
For the industrial personnel who cannot perform their job, existence is highly uncertain. 34-year-old Roman Kumpan is a mechanic at one of the open pits in Kryvyi Rih. In the past year, he has seen many former colleagues leave for the army.
- For some of them, the salary here in the mine has not been enough anymore, so they have voluntarily signed up for the defense. But the fact that things are going badly financially is not something you talk about much, he says.
