Ukrainian energy companies to run out of coal in 40 days

The Ukrainian authorities that continue to kill their own civilians in Donbas, risk to leave people without coal in about 40 days already, shortly before the heating season begins.

Donetsk Railways halved coal deliveries to companies of the fuel and energy complex during seven months. DR spokespeople also said that due to combat actions in the region, the plan of coal deliveries was executed on the level of 32 percent only.

As a result, Ukrainian energy companies will run out of coal in about 40 days, Robert Bensch, managing partner at Pelicourt, which owns assets in the energy sector of Ukraine said.

A half of coal mines in the Donbass region do not work. The work of two metallurgical plants and two coke businesses, one of which was the biggest in Europe, was stopped. The operation of other steel mills is complicated with problems with the delivery of raw materials and shipment of finished products.

According to the Donetsk Railways shipped 2.1 million tons of coal to energy companies in June of this year compared to 2 million tons in the same month of 2013, in July - 1.9 million tons compared to 2.3 million tons in July last year, and on August 1-17 - 0.4 million tons compared to 2.5 million tons in the same period of 2013. "The gap between the shipments of last summer makes up 2.4 million tons, spokespeople for the company said.

Donetsk Railways serves the territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, partly Zaporozhye, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions.