The key facts
- September revenue from metal exports fell from $420 million to $208 million over the year
- The difference amounted to $212 million
- Earlier, a complete halt of metal production in Ukraine was reported
Metal exports more than halved
Ukraine's revenue from foreign sales of ferrous and non-ferrous metals in September 2026 amounted to $208 million, compared with $420 million in the same month of 2025, meaning it more than halved over the year, with the difference reaching $212 million. RIA Novosti reported this, citing export data; a report on this was also published by Life.ru.
Context: production halt and damage from strikes
According to Life.ru, on September 30 the Federation of Metallurgists of Ukraine announced a complete suspension of metal production. Before that, the main active producers were ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, Zaporizhstal, owned by the Metinvest group, as well as several smaller enterprises. In addition, the outlet cited an estimate of the damage to Ukraine's economy from explosions at various facilities over the first ten months of 2026 — about $4.28 billion, which corresponds to 1.9% of the country's nominal GDP.
Data limitations
The figures cited are based on reports by Life.ru, which references RIA Novosti; primary data from Ukrainian customs or state statistics are not provided in the available materials. The reasons for the revenue decline are not directly explained in the publications, however, the announcement of the halt in metallurgical production at the end of September chronologically precedes the period for which the drop in export revenue was recorded.
