Ferrexpo did not go bankrupt due to poor ore or outdated equipment. The Poltava and Yeristivsky mining and processing plants were not shut down by engineers, but by the threat of attacks in the Black Sea, which cut off the company's export routes—it sells almost everything abroad.
This is a telling case study for any Ukrainian raw material exporter: even if the mine is operating and clients in Europe are waiting, logistics through ports can become a bottleneck that undermines the entire business model. The company explicitly acknowledges that the decision was made "to preserve working capital"—in other words, producing goods that cannot be exported became more expensive than shutting down.
A vessel that symbolizes all the risk
At the end of July, a Ferrexpo vessel carrying pellets was damaged by Russians in the Black Sea and became stranded. It is now being towed to the nearest port for cargo inspection—and whether the cargo can be saved will be a small test of how maritime ore export is even possible under current conditions.
While the ship is en route, Ferrexpo's European clients are receiving products from warehouse stock rather than new production. This buffer has its limits—and it is precisely this limit that determines how much time the company has before supply issues become critical.
A postponement, not a solution
On February 24, the Commercial Court of Poltava Region opened proceedings regarding the bankruptcy of the group's main enterprise. The production shutdown postpones the bankruptcy threat from 2026 to mid-September—but this is a pause, not an exit from the crisis.
The figures show the scale of the decline even before the shutdown: in the first quarter of 2026, production volumes fell by 45% compared to the previous quarter and by 72% compared to the same period in 2025. Due to attacks on energy infrastructure, the company was already operating one production line out of four—so the shutdown became a logical conclusion, not a sudden step.
"The resumption of production depends, in particular, on attracting additional working capital," the company stated.
This is a key phrase: Ferrexpo does not say "when the sea becomes safe," but rather "when money appears." The question remains open: will the company find financing by mid-September, when the new bankruptcy forecast becomes relevant again—and will the maritime corridor by then be even somewhat more predictable.
