REUTERS
He proposes only those types of coal that are not produced in Ukraine could be bought abroad.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has tasked Minister of Energy and Environmental Protection Oleksiy Orzhel with limiting imports of coal and electricity.
"What kind of imports can we talk about if the countries we import from do not let us into their markets? Hence our coal, our miners, our electricity first. And if a certain type is not produced in our country, then we can raise the issue of importing that type. This is an urgent task," he said at a nationwide meeting of coal industry workers of Ukraine on February 25, according to an UNIAN correspondent.
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UNIAN memo. Since the outbreak of hostilities in Donbas, Ukraine has been experiencing a significant shortage of coal, primarily energy grade (anthracite), whose production is concentrated in Donetsk and Luhansk regions in areas controlled by Russian occupation forces.
Energy companies began to transfer anthracite-fed units of thermal power plants to gas-grade coal, which led to an increase in the consumption of "G" fuel.
The existing output is failing to fully cover the demand so a shortage of this coal grade has also arisen.
To address the issue, Ukrainian energy companies sealed a number of coal import contracts.
In April 2019, Russia's government limited shipments of energy carriers to Ukraine and introduced from June 1, 2019, special licenses for suppliers of coal, crude oil and fuel from Russia to Ukraine.