Ukrainian fighters and civilians have been hunkered down in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. President Putin said there is no need for his troops to storm the plant but has ordered a blockade, so that in his words “a fly could not get through”. That plant’s owners, Metinvest, which has facilities throughout Ukraine, once had around 40,000 employees in Mariupol; 4,500 workers of the Azovstal plant have escaped. Metinvest accounted for 45% of Ukraine’s crude steel output last year. Now, it’s focused on getting aid and equipment to Ukrainian troops on the frontlines. Yuriy Ryzhenkov joins us now. He is the CEO of Metinvest Holding.

– Yuriy, great to have you on the show, first and foremost, I’m sorry for what you, your workers and your family are going through. What can you tell us about the workers, the civilians that remain in this plant that is now surrounded by Russian troops?

– Well, hello. First, when the war started, we had stocked quite good stocks of food and water in the bomb shelters and the facilities at the plants, so for some period of time civilians, they were able to use it, and basically survive on that. Unfortunately, all the things they tend to run out, especially the food and the necessities, and I think now it’s close to a catastrophe there, but as far as I understand, both the fighters and civilians that are still there – they are not giving up. 

– Well, hello. First, when the war started, we had stocked quite good stocks of food and water in the bomb shelters and the facilities at the plants, so for some period of time civilians, they were able to use it, and basically survive on that. Unfortunately, all the things they tend to run out, especially the food and the necessities, and I think now it’s close to a catastrophe there, but as far as I understand, both the fighters and civilians that are still there – they are not giving up.

– Well, not, not really, as I said we’ve stocked some food and water, but our assessment was it is enough for 2-3 weeks, but they are more than 8 weeks now in the blockade. So, I have no idea what the humanitarian situation is there, but I’m sure it is a catastrophe. We are trying to get as many people as possible out of town, we have volunteers helping us, basically driving small cars and busses back and forth, bringing people out, so we can meet them in safety, either on controlled territory and provide them food and shelter and some daily necessities, and get them some comforts. That’s what we’ve been focusing on the last few weeks.

– You had ten and a half thousand workers originally at this plant, I know, and I mentioned you’ve accounted for over 4,000 of them. What about the others?

– We had set up a hotline for our employees. Whoever comes out, they are registering on the hotline and then, depending on where they are, we provide them with advice about where to get food, shelter, medical help and so on. So far, as you rightly said, we have been contacted only by about 4,500 people from Azovstal. The remaining ones have still not yet, but we are trying to spread the message around as much as possible to get them to contact us as soon as they are able to communicate. Hopefully they are still alive, hopefully they are okay and hopefully they will get out and we will provide them with all the necessary comfort.

– The people remaining stuck, the civilians and potential workers too in that plant, President Putin has said that they will be treated in a dignified manner if they surrender. I know it’s a terrible question to have to answer, but what is your advice if they see this, if somehow they get connection and can see this, do you advise them to surrender?

– Our employees are civilians – they are not fighting. They cannot surrender, they are not fighting. My advice to them is: try to get out to either the Azov Sea coast, from where we can take them to the west, or all the way to Zaporizhzhia, where we can meet them and take care of them. I don’t see how civilians can surrender. But my advice is to get out if you can. If it’s possible.

– I wonder about the troops, because this has become, as we’ve discussed, what feels to be a last stand in Mariupol. How do the Ukrainians feel about the stance of these troops?

– To be honest, we are all very proud of our fighters. War is war, but what they are showing is true heroism. Of course, it’s their decision what to do next, we cannot advise them, but we would be proud of them anyway. They are heroes, anyway.

– The other question I’m thinking about, and this could be a very important one. I know you have said in the past – this facility, it’s a big one, we are talking about more than 4 square miles, will not be used by Russia, the workers won’t work for them. Again, if the Russians do end up taking this plant and take control over Mariupol, are you willing to see that facility used for Russian purposes? I know that at the moment you’ve provided support to Ukrainian troops.

– We have already said, our shareholders and the company itself have proclaimed that we will not work under Russian occupation. Our enterprises will not be working under Russian occupation, we will not be controlling this work, we will not be providing this work. Of course, Russians can try to restart the plants. Well, let’s see if they can manage that. I doubt very much. But, to be honest, I still believe Ukraine will be able to take back Mariupol and we will be restoring those plants and they will be working in Ukraine.

– Yuriy, forgive me for asking, but if you’re given an ultimatum, and it comes down to the life or death of your workers, would you advise them to work if they are told to?

– Well, I think if it is a life-or-death situation, they don’t have much choice, and they will have to work, but what I am saying, I doubt that the Russians will be able to restore the operation of those mills to significant capacity just with what they have. Technically and market wise, it would be very difficult to operate those facilities. Our workers, whoever stays there, if it saves their lives – yes, they will work, but my advice to them – get out to Ukraine-controlled territory. Get in touch as soon as possible.

– Let’s talk about rebuilding. I mentioned how important your operations are for steel exports and internally for the country and a lot of work will be needed to rebuild. Talk about the role that you see for Metinvest in that. 

– Well, first is the city of Mariupol, there is a lot of damage to the civil infrastructure, so definitely Metinvest will participate with helping people to restore their houses, to restore the infrastructure, the city and we will help to restore its operations. Second are the steel mills, since we stopped in orderly manner to avoid any technological disaster, I believe we can still rebuild them, and the rebuild will be both ways: on one end we will try to restore existing technology, but in parallel we will be building new technology, which we envisaged anyway and announced a few months ago. We were planning to decarbonise to make green steel production in Mariupol, and that is still a plan. And we still believe in doing that, and we still believe we will do it in Mariupol, in Ukraine.

– Yes, we love the attitude. Yuriy, I know you have children abroad that were studying when this war began, so you are separated from them, and you are just one family of many who are now separated families in surrounding countries. The men who stayed behind to fight and carry on working as best as they can. What is your message to your children and to the families who are now separated?

– Well, the message is simple. We are here to win. The victory will come to Ukraine and then families will be reunited. Just hang on, we are doing it, we will succeed.

– Yeah. We’ll see you soon. Yuriy, stay safe please.

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