The war has halted major investments and posed unprecedented challenges for industry – Oleksandr Vodoviz
Oleksandr Vodoviz, head of the Chief Executive Officer’s Office at Metinvest Group, spoke about the state of Ukraine’s industry, wartime losses, investment barriers and export risks in 2026 at the “Ukraine and the World Ahead 2026” event organised by NV and The Economist. The event gathered Ukrainian and international experts together with government and business representatives to discuss the key challenges that will shape the country’s development in the year ahead. On the Group’s transformation Vodoviz stated that the war has fundamentally changed Metinvest’s scale and capabilities. Before the full-scale invasion, the Group was one of the country’s largest private employers and investors, as well as a leading exporter. During the war, however, it has lost the use of some of its assets, including the complete disruption to operational control of its facilities in Mariupol, while its total workforce has fallen from 120,000 to 50,000. More than 11,000 Metinvest employees have served i