War is not an obstacle: Ukraine has significantly increased its coal production, - Ministry of Energy
Thanks to this, some companies have already begun active preparations for the next heating season.

The war in Ukraine has not prevented the increase in coal production at state mines by 24% since the beginning of this year. This issue is extremely important in terms of preparation for the new heating season. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Energy.

It is noted that in March 2022, 173 thousand tons were produced at state coal mining enterprises and this figure has been declining for a long time. However, in January of this year, production reached 178 thousand tons, and in February it increased to 197 thousand tons. In March, the figure was already 221 thousand tons, which is 24% higher than in January.

In addition, there is an increase in average daily production indicators: if in September an average of 4.1 thousand tons of coal were mined per day, then in March this figure increased to 7.1 thousand tons.

Thanks to the increase in coal production in state mines, its reserves in the warehouses of energy enterprises are increasing. According to data at the end of last month, 1 million 208 thousand tons of coal were accumulated in the warehouses of thermal power plants and thermal power plants: this is 508 thousand tons more than the original plan.
This is extremely important in the context of preparations for the next heating season, which has already begun at some power plants.

It is worth noting that last year it became known that the Russians were supplying coal to Turkey from the temporarily occupied Donbass. In total, from February to July last year, more than 160 thousand tons of coal from the occupied Donetsk and Lugansk regions arrived in Turkey. Its cost was at least $14.3 million. Thus, Turkey was the largest point of coal export from the annexed territories: it accounted for 95% of supplies during the specified period. In addition, Russia continues to actively supply coal to Poland, although the latter has called for a boycott of natural resources from the Russian Federation.

Let us recall that as of October 2, 2023, the Chairman of the Union of Consumers of Utilities of Ukraine Oleg Popenko said that gas reserves in Ukraine were minimal, which cast doubt on the stability of the heating season.

Source: https://focus.ua