REUTERS
Stocks of anthracite coal at Ukrainian thermal power plants (TPP) grew by 3% from June 27 to July 5, 2017, to 698,300 tonnes, according to the Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Ministry's press service.
At the same time, the stocks of gas coal decreased by 3.6% from 1.824 million tonnes to 1.759 million tonnes.
Read alsoOver 76,000 tonnes of Donbas coal smuggled to Russia within month – NGOIn general, coal stocks at Ukraine's TPPs over the week shrank by 1.8%, to 2.457 million tonnes.
UNIAN memo. Fighting in the eastern regions of Ukraine has caused a significant shortage of coal, primarily that of thermal anthracite produced in militant-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Thus, the deficit of coal affects the operation of power plants, which had to reduce their capacity.
In order to ensure smooth operation of power grids, anthracite has been imported from South Africa. However, the issue of coal shipments to thermal power plants became critical after the launch of a blockade of trade with the occupied areas in late January 2017.