Like thousands of other residents of Zaporizhzhia, Denys Maksyshko has spent years working for local steel factory Zaporizhstal.
asserted
Maksyshko → spend → factory
"Zaporizhstal is not just a big company, it's the heart of the city," he says.
asserted
he → say → city
Now, following a series of Russian missile strikes, this heart has stopped beating.
asserted
heart → follow → strikes
The huge factory that employs 8,500 people shut down indefinitely after four waves of Russian attacks - two in August, and two in September.
asserted
that → employ → September
"All the equipment has been almost completely destroyed.
asserted
equipment → destroy → ?
The blast furnaces have been almost completely ruined," Maksyshko complains.
asserted
Maksyshko → ruin → ?
Russia fired a total of 17 missiles at Zaporizhstal, according to Oleksandr Myronenko, chief operating officer of steelworks owner Metinvest.
uncertain
Russia → fire → Metinvest
Eight workers were killed and 31 wounded.
asserted
31 → kill → ?
"We're now clearing rubble and trying to plan recovery," Myronenko tells the BBC.
asserted
Myronenko → clear → BBC
At the moment it is far from certain Zaporizhstal will ever start up again.
asserted
Zaporizhstal → start → moment
Russia's persistent campaign of air strikes against Ukrainian metallurgical plants started in August.
asserted
campaign → start → August
By now, all of them have been hit, some several times.
asserted
all → hit → them
Before the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, metallurgy and mining accounted for roughly 10% of Ukraine's GDP and a third of its exports.
asserted
metallurgy → account → exports
It provided employment for more than half a million people, and every 13th job in Ukraine was linked to the industry one way or another.
asserted
job → provide → way
Because of the recent Russian attacks, it has all but ground to a halt and its contribution to Ukraine's GDP now "is probably close to zero", says Myronenko.
asserted
Myronenko → grind → zero
"Clearly, they're trying to stop Ukraine's economy and stop Ukraine from getting [export] money from abroad, from paying taxes and wages, from ensuring that cities live and people have jobs," says Myronenko.
asserted
Myronenko → try → jobs
The damage to the metals industry could have devastating consequences for Ukraine's economy and society.
uncertain
damage → have → economy
Ukraine had 12 metallurgical plants before losing parts of its industrial heartland in the east shortly after the start of hostilities with Russia in 2014.
By 2018, there were just nine, and three years into the full-scale war in 2025 that number had fallen to six.
asserted
number → have → six
Among those lost were the Azovstal and Illich plants in Mariupol, Ukraine's south-eastern city captured after a months-long Russian siege.
asserted
plants → lose → siege
Among the steel-making cities caught up in Russia's recent missile campaign is President Volodymyr Zelensky's home city of Kryvyi Rih.
asserted
city → make → Rih
On 25 September, Ukraine's biggest steelworks, Arcelor Mittal Kryvyi Rih, announced it was unable to reopen after repeated attacks over five weeks, praising the bravery of its workers, five of whom had died.
asserted
five → announce → whom
Latest on war in Ukraine
Local Defence Council head Oleksandr Vilkul issued an emergency address to the city's residents, in which he spoke of a "very serious blow" that would affect more than just thousands of jobs.
asserted
that → issue → jobs
The situation, he admitted, was very difficult.
asserted
he → admit → ?
"It is taxes feeding into our community's budget," he said.
asserted
he → feed → budget
"They provided funds for keeping the city's infrastructure running, repairing heating plants and their pipes, funds for nursery schools, social services and many other things.
asserted
infrastructure → provide → schools
"
Taxes paid by metal-making companies have funded 30-70% of local government spending in their host cities, says Stanislav Zinchenko, head of Kyiv-based consultancy GMK Center.
asserted
Zinchenko → pay → Center
"In other words, the physical survival of these cities depended on these companies," he told the BBC.
asserted
he → depend → BBC
Before the war, the mining and metallurgical industry was a key industry," he told the BBC.
asserted
he → tell → BBC
"It was always the biggest investor in the economy, investing $2bn-$3bn (£1.5bn-£2.3bn) a year on average.
asserted
It → invest → 2bn-$3bn
"
If the steelworks remain shut, hundreds of thousands of people may lose their jobs, and the resulting waves of migration will reach far beyond Ukraine, Zinchenko warned.
uncertain
Zinchenko → remain → Ukraine
"A humanitarian catastrophe is looming."
asserted
catastrophe → loom → ?
The end of steelmaking in Ukraine would also have severe consequences for its defence capabilities and reconstruction.
asserted
end → have → capabilities
Steel is vital for producing military equipment, as well as for making shelters and repairing countless buildings damaged by Russia.
asserted
Steel → produce → Russia
Russia has justified its attacks on the steel plants for that reason, alleging that the plants in Zaporizhzhia and Kryvyi Rih were all producing military hardware.
"We attempted relaunching Zaporizhstal.
asserted
We → justify → Zaporizhstal
We restarted a furnace, and it worked for 10 hours before there was another air strike," Oleksandr Vodoviz of Metinvest told a conference in Kyiv.
asserted
Vodoviz → restart → Kyiv
There was no point yet on spending money on recovery as the situation was unclear, he added.
uncertain
he → be → recovery
Even if production were to resume, it would not be business as usual for Ukrainian steelmakers any time soon.
asserted
it → resume → steelmakers
Russian attacks on railways have made transporting their products within Ukraine difficult and dangerous, and strikes against ports have turned exports into a lethal lottery.
asserted
strikes → make → lottery
"Ports have essentially been blocked," said Oleksandr Myronenko.
asserted
Myronenko → block → ?
"Every ship is at risk of being attacked, and their chances are 50-50 - either you make it, or you don't."
asserted
you → attack → it
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
