Due to the advance of Russian troops, the Defense Forces blew up a mine near Pokrovsk that produced coking coal.
NYT writes that this mine is strategically important for Ukraine, because the coal from it is used in the metallurgical industry. As a result of its closure, steel production in Ukraine may fall by half.
The publication provides dry statistics: in 2023, it produced 3.2 million tons of coal; by the summer of 2024, production had decreased by almost a third, to 7 thousand tons of coal/day, and by mid-December it was producing only 2 thousand tons of coal/day. . At this point, work at the mine became impossible due to constant shelling and energy shortages.
Another reason is that the miners had to get into it not through the village of Peschanoye (the entrance to the mine was located there), but on foot 9.5 km through underground tunnels. They had to return with the mined coal on conveyor belts.
Due to the military’s fears that the Resists could thus get to their rear, the mine was blown up.
The publication also reports that explosives were planted in two other mines of the enterprise, which still remain under the control of Ukraine. It is not yet known whether it was blown up.
According to the company’s statement, coking coal will now be replaced by American coal.
Source: Racurs
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