Speed and manpower determine the industry’s resilience during wartime – Metinvest CEO

Speed is key to industrial resilience during wartime, and people remain a critical resource. This was stated by Yuriy Ryzhenkov, CEO of the Metinvest Group, at the GLOBSEC Forum in Prague, according to a company press release.

According to him, to survive in wartime conditions, Ukrainian industrial companies must focus on several key areas.

This involves ensuring the safety of people and their ability to work in difficult conditions. It is also necessary to build a resilient logistics system—delivering products in both directions, supplying raw materials, and quickly organizing rotations on the front lines.

The product cycle should also be accelerated—shortening the time from development to implementation and continuously improving solutions.

Furthermore, people remain a critical resource. Yuriy Ryzhenkov noted that Ukraine, like Europe, has long been on a path of deindustrialization and the loss of skilled workers and engineering personnel (welders, electricians, engineers).

“The war has shown that the most valuable resource is people. Yes, we understand the role of IT specialists, but without welders, electricians, and engineers, there would be neither fortified positions nor a stable line of defense. Ukraine has gained extensive experience at the intersection of the military and industrial sectors: what can and should be done before the war, how to act during it, and how to prepare in advance. “And it is precisely this experience that Ukraine can share with Europe,” emphasized Metinvest’s CEO.

Yuriy Ryzhenkov noted that the company has been operating for over a decade under conditions of war and constant risk, being located closest to the front lines and working just 20 km from the combat zone in Zaporizhzhia.

“As a company, we have remained on the front lines since the start of the war in 2014,” he said.

Yuriy Ryzhenkov noted that Metinvest began with a traditional model of cooperation with the military: development, certification, testing, and the subsequent creation of finished products. However, after February 2022, the usual business processes no longer met the demands of the war. Consequently, the speed of change, adaptability, and effective collaboration between the military and the civilian industry began to play a leading role.

“In the regions where we operate, we work closely with the military. Since the start of the full-scale war, the pace of communication has increased significantly, and we’ve had to learn to create new products—from concept to testing on the front lines—in a matter of weeks instead of several years, as was the case before. When war affects you, you come to understand how civilian technologies and solutions can quickly adapt to wartime needs,” he added.

Since then, Metinvest has produced over several hundred military-grade products, including underground steel shelters, NATO Role 2-level field hospitals, and protective equipment for military vehicles.

The GLOBSEC Forum is one of Europe’s leading platforms for security, defense, and foreign policy issues.

It is worth noting that over the four years of the war, Metinvest has allocated 10.1 billion UAH to support Ukraine, with 7.3 billion UAH earmarked for the army’s needs as part of the “Steel Front” military initiative.