REUTERS
Ukraine saw a 53.2% decline in coal output January through July 2015 due to hostilities in Donbas, which stood at 15.5 million tonnes, Ukraine's State Statistics Service said.
Coal production in July 2015 from July 2014 decreased by 42%, to 2.2 million tonnes, while it showed a 4.3% increase if compared to June 2015.
UNIAN's memo. Domestically produced coal is now insufficient to meet Ukrainian thermal power plants' demand because of war in the country's east where most of operating coal mines are located.
Nuclear power plants account for about 50% of electricity generated in Ukraine, while the remaining share belongs to thermal power plants, which burn gas and coal to generate electricity, and to hydropower plants along with renewable energy facilities. The lack of natural gas and a halt to work at 80% of Ukraine's coal translated into the deficit of fuel and, as a result, a decline in electricity output.