Photo from UNIAN
The Ukrainian government will do everything possible to provide the Ukrainians with coal during the heating season, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said on ICTV channel.
According to Groysman, today the Ukrainian economy consumes annually about 33 million tonnes of coal, of which 9 million tonnes is "A" group coal, produced mainly in the areas of Donbas beyond government control. "I am against the smuggling and abuse on the demarcation line... But we will do everything so that there is enough coal to meet the needs of the population," he said.
Read alsoSBU warns of negative impact of blocking Donbas rail lines"This is our land, these are our bowels, all companies are registered on the Ukrainian soil – our land, controlled by Ukraine, and today I see no other option but to get the coal. All the rest, we need to do upgrades, we need to switch to other types of coal, we need to do a lot of other things, but it takes time. However, people want to turn on the light today, heat their food, and use household appliances," the prime minister said.
As earlier reported by UNIAN, Ukraine began to experience an acute shortage of coal in the summer of 2014, when, as a result of hostilities, the government completely lost control of part of Donbas, where the majority of the coal mines were located.
In January 2015, Ukraine reduced coal production by half to 2.5 million tonnes, as compared to the previous year amid continued fighting in Donbas.
Read alsoCoal from occupied Donbas traded under guise of RSA supplies – journalist investigationAs a result, Kyiv-based authorities decided to begin importing coal from South Africa and Poland.
Currently, anthracite grade coal is extracted in the temporarily occupied territories in coal mines owned by Ukrainian businessman Rinat Akhmetov. However, coal supplies from the Anti-Terrorist Operation zone are often interrupted.
Read alsoLuhansk-Popasna rail line damaged: Protesters claim have nothing to do with incidentOn January 25, 2017, the activists blocked the Luhansk - Popasna railway within the framework of the trade blockade of the occupied regions of Donbas, resulted in the movement of 12 trains with the total number of 700 railroad cars was blocked.
Ukrainian Deputy Minister for temporarily occupied territory and internally displaced people George Tuka said that this blockage could lead to the fact that the whole territory of Luhansk region would remain without electricity. According to him, such actions are illegal and inappropriate.