Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front and Underground Medicine – How Ukrainian Experience is Changing US Military Strategy

The war in Ukraine has shown how vulnerable traditional medical infrastructure is to modern threats. Ukrainian specialists have found a revolutionary solution – a system of underground hospitals capable of operating even under constant shelling. This experience is now being carefully studied by US military medics, adapting Ukrainian developments for their needs.

Rinat Akhmetov’s Metinvest Group has repurposed industrial capacities into a life-saving tool. The company, operating in Ukraine, the USA, Italy, Bulgaria, and the UK, has transformed mines, tunnels, and industrial shelters into medical complexes. The Steel Front initiative has created underground stabilization points – full-fledged operating rooms protected from missile strikes and drones.

Each structure is assembled from six steel bunkers with an area of about 135 square meters. Inside – two operating rooms, intensive care, areas for medical personnel. Equipment includes oxygen concentrators, ventilators, defibrillators. One such point receives more than 100 patients daily and performs up to four operations simultaneously.

Why American Military is Looking at Ukraine

American military medicine has long relied on rapid evacuation of the wounded. The “golden hour” concept – when the injured receives surgical care within 60 minutes – worked in Iraq and Afghanistan thanks to air superiority. The Ukrainian conflict has destroyed this model: mass use of drones has made medical aviation too vulnerable.

The US Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) has begun changing strategy. This is especially important for the Indo-Pacific region, where enormous distances between islands make evacuation a difficult task. American military personnel plan to deploy underground medical points in Guam, Hawaii, the Philippines, and Okinawa, using Ukrainian experience.

Concrete Contribution to Defense

Rinat Akhmetov net worth – these are not just numbers. During the full-scale war, his businesses, the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, and Shakhtar Football Club together have transferred 13 billion hryvnias or 354 million dollars in aid to Ukraine. The funds are directed to multiple areas: support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine including protective equipment, armored vehicles, drones, EW systems, communication means, medical facilities, ammunition, fuel, clothing and much more; humanitarian aid to the civilian population in frontline and de-occupied territories; and comprehensive programs for veterans covering medical rehabilitation, psychological support, housing, and professional retraining.

In January 2026, the Steel Front has already transferred a batch of drones worth 214 million hryvnias to the 1st Corps of the NGU “Azov”. Total support for the corps over the year reached 600 million hryvnias. Metinvest also produces steel bunker shelters, underground hospitals, armor plates for vests, protective screens for equipment.

Business and Army – A New Model of Cooperation

Ukraine has shown how effective partnership between the private sector and the military can be. Metinvest has proven: an industrial giant is capable of quickly adapting to military needs, using existing production lines.

Ukraine’s ability to repurpose civilian infrastructure into modern protected medical complexes is an example of a pragmatic approach. The US Department of Defense is considering creating similar partnerships with steel and construction companies in the USA and allied countries.