Southern Mining Complex partially suspends operations due to Russian attacks on civilian vessels

The Southern Mining and Processing Complex has begun the process of suspending production and temporarily reducing work volumes.

The company reported this.

The decision was made due to Russia’s constant attacks on civilian merchant ships heading to Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which led to the actual blocking of their work. The company will continue to fulfill its obligations to employees and partners and will resume production when the security situation allows.

The company explained that the suspension of production at the Southern Mining and Processing Complex is a forced step that was postponed as much as possible. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the complex has constantly operated under a number of critical factors: hostile shelling, energy supply disruptions, a rapid increase in logistics costs, the introduction of the European Carbon Import Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the strengthening of EU quotas for Ukrainian MMC products. In July 2026, these challenges were compounded by a significant deterioration in the security situation for maritime logistics passing through Ukrainian Black Sea ports.

The aggressor country launched systematic missile strikes on international merchant ships. Among the affected ships were those carrying products of the Ukrainian metallurgical industry.

The aggressor’s actions led to the suspension of sea shipping to the Black Sea ports of Ukraine due to shipowners’ concerns about the safety of their crews. At the same time, several ship loads of iron ore, which were supposed to be exported, accumulated in both the ports and warehouses of the Southern Mining and Processing Plant. Due to the inability to accumulate the extracted products, the plant was forced to temporarily suspend its work.

“Resolving this issue requires joint and proactive work by the Ukrainian state and international partners. The staff of the Southern Mining and Processing Plant appeals to the President of Ukraine, the government, and parliamentarians. Unblocking logistics routes for Ukrainian Black Sea ports is a crucial task for the sustainable operation of not only the mining and metallurgical industry, but also the entire Ukrainian economy. We call on state authorities to take maximum measures to protect port infrastructure and merchant ships from enemy attacks,” the Southern Mining and Processing Complex said. 

Earlier, USM reported that Ferrexpo had suspended sea deliveries due to Russian shelling.