Ukraine has a multi-branch, developed industry was created in Ukraine covering about 20 major industries, namely power generating, fuel, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical and petrochemical and gas, machine-building and metal-working, forest, wood-working and wood pulp and paper, construction materials, light, food and others. In 1990, for instance, approximately 300 billion kWh of energy, approximately 40 million tons of ferrous metals rolled stock, and 6.5 million tons of steel pipes were produced; more than 100 million tons of iron ore were mined; 37 thousand metal cutting machine-tools, and more than 100 thousand tractors were manufactured in Ukraine.
Ukraine has five nuclear power stations with fifteen reactors with a total power output of 13.6 thousand MW (13 reactors of WWR type and 2 reactors of RBMK type in the Chernobyl NPS). In addition there are 47 thermal power stations with a total power output of 32.4 thousand MW, 6 large hydraulic power stations on the Dnieper and 55 small stations on other rivers.
In the coal-mining industry, more than 300 mines are operated in three coal-mining regions. Ukraine produces only 5.5 million tons of its own oil, but the ramified network of oil pipelines supports the operation of 10 petroleum plants. The Ukrainian gas pipelines transport the Russian gas to Central and Western Europe.
Approximately 200 large enterprises are operating in ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, pipe and rolling industry. These include the world largest complexes for the production of cast iron, steel, rolled stock and pipes in Dniepropetrovsk, Zaporozhje, Donetsk, Makeevka, Mariupol and other cities.
The mechanical engineering sector is represented by enterprises producing metallurgical, oil, chemical, mining, power generating, railway (locomotives, carriages, tank-cars, etc.), road construction and transportation (ships, aircraft, cars, city transport) equipment, machinery for agriculture, light and food industry, metal-cutting machine tools, instrumentation.
The Zaporozhje ‘Motor-Sich’ plant manufactures aircraft engines for all the CIS countries. One of the world largest aerospace concerns - ‘Pivdenny’ - is functioning in Dniepropet-rovsk; Kharkov turbines are known in many countries. A high-capacity chemical production complex is located in the city of Kaloush.
Altogether, the industry of Ukraine includes more than 10000 state and joint stock enterprises, and hundreds of private and collectively owned small and medium-sized businesses have been established over the last years, which operate in various industries.
