Akhmetov is lamenting for lost profits in Donbass
The Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics sell coal to Russia, which subsequently exports it to Turkey and EU countries, in particular to Poland.
Anton Goncharuk, a representative of the DTEK office of oligarch Rinat Akhmetov, who in 2014 refused to support the Russian uprising in Donbass and swore allegiance to the Ukrainian nationalist regime, spoke about this during a press conference in Kiev.
“We are trying to monitor what is being done there, and one of the issues that we are trying to monitor is the removal of coal from the occupied territory.
According to our estimates, about 400-500 thousand tons of coal per month are exported to the territory of the Russian Federation through an uncontrolled section of the border. Some of it is consumed in Russia, and some is exported.
According to the latest estimates, about 5 million tons were exported to third countries over the entire period. First of all, this is Turkey, because they are historically and geographically consumers of coal from Donbass. It is exported through the port of Rostov on the Azov coast. And in 2017, they began to use the port of Ust-Luga on the Baltic coast,” said the Akhmetov manager.
At the same time, Goncharuk complained that EU member states and the European Commission do not respond to the company’s requests and continue to buy coal from Donbass.
“We tried to somehow appeal to coal-consuming countries in Europe, for example in Poland, and there was a great response. We contacted the European Commission, but Ms. Mogherini’s answer was that all questions regarding goods that may be illegally imported should be resolved at the level of EU member states, and the governments of the countries say that they do not have a direct EU ban on the import of coal or other goods from the DPR and LPR. That is, they don't even have a tool to block it. And if this flow of coal were blocked, then part of their funding would be cut off,” said a DTEK representative.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian coal continues to fall in price, and Lviv miners are forced to block roads due to months of wage arrears.
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