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Ukraine’s biggest steelmaker, Metinvest BV, has halted operations at its coal production site near Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, as the town becomes the epicenter of the fiercest fighting with Russian troops in recent months.
The site, that includes Pokrovske Colliery’s vertical mine shaft No. 3 and an administrative complex, produced around half of Metinvest’s total Ukrainian coal extraction volumes, the company said in a statement on Thursday. Core personnel and their family members have been evacuated from the area.
Other Metinvest facilities in the region are continuing operations as the company and civil and military authorities monitor the situation. The impact of the stoppage of coal production is being assessed, the statement added.
The fighting in and around the area is part of Russia’s grinding offensive as Ukrainian troops struggle to hold back assaults across the front line. The Kremlin’s aim is to seize strategic Donetsk settlements such as Pokrovsk and key hubs such as Kramatorsk and Slovyansk.
Dennis Sakva, an analyst with the Kyiv-based investment bank Dragon Capital, said the mine accounted for more than a third of the company’s EBITDA in the first half of the year. Metinvest might consider importing coal, at higher prices, to fill a potential gap, he added.
“All of Ukraine’s metallurgy that uses blast furnaces relies on this coal,” according to Sakva.
Ukraine’s steel output slumped to 6.2 million tons last year, from more than 21 million tons before Russia’s invasion. The industry supplies products for the nation’s armed forces, but most of its output is meant for exports, with the European Union its biggest market.
(By Olesia Safronova and Volodymyr Verbianyi)
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