Metinvest Mining and Metallurgical Group can track steel products stolen from the metallurgical enterprises of Mariupol by numbers and grades of steel and photographic records of wagons, Azovstal CEO Enver Tskitishvili said in an interview with Delo.ua.

"The Russian military is filming and posting on the net how they load the rolls of our plant. In general, this is theft and the company monitors the sale of such products. Now we understand what the 'Russian world' is. This is to steal: to steal our future, to steal products from the enterprise, even the toilet bowls are rolled in. In 2014, we had a base on the shore of the Sea of Azov, where employees of the Azovstal plant lived in the summer. When this base got into the temporarily occupied territory, the occupiers took the toilet bowls, even the spoons," the CEO said.

At the same time, stolen goods can be tracked. "We know the number of the roll, the steel grade, the wagons, we have photo fixation of the wagons. We can track where each sheet will pop up. They have the logic of a thief, if I stole a thing for a hundred hryvnias, then I'll sell it for a hryvnia. Suddenly someone will buy. But due to the sanctions that were imposed against the Russians, people who could buy stolen goods before, understand that there may be persecution," Tskitishvili said.

According to him, at the time of the invasion, there were about 50,000 tonnes of finished products of Azovstal in the port, as well as about 40,000 tonnes more in the warehouse in the plate shop, for a total amount of about $50-60 million.

The general director also said that Azovstal does not currently pay taxes, except for income taxes, and correspondence is constantly being maintained with contractors.

"We understand that war is a force majeure. We can neither confirm nor deny information about the state of their equipment, which was located on the territory of the enterprise. They understand this. I held three meetings with foreign partners. People lost a lot of money, but I was surprised by their tolerance and understanding of our situation. Our partners are ready to wait for the end of the war and the proceedings after it. In addition, they tell us: If you find out that the sheet of metal for which I paid will be stolen from you, let us know. Together we will catch the thief," the head of the enterprise stated.

De jure Azovstal exists, in fact, the plant is damaged, but the degree of destruction cannot be assessed now. And the group is confident that the enterprise will be restored.

"We will restore the plant. There are two things that give me confidence in this. The first is the president's words that we will liberate and restore our occupied territories. We already have a working group at Metinvest that is working on a project for a new Azovstal. It will be a different plant," Tskitishvili said, adding that it will be called Azovstal – it is a world symbol of people's resilience, a symbol of freedom and resilience of the people, a symbol of the struggle for the independence of Ukraine.

The top manager did not name the required amount for restoration – while there are approximate figures. The construction itself can take at least three years.