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At the Sukhodolska Skhidna coal mine after fire flashover in 2023. Photo by the Russian emergency situations ministry in the Luhansk "republic"
At the Sukhodolska Skhidna coal mine after fire flashover in 2023. Photo by the Russian emergency situations ministry in the Luhansk "republic"

Russian company announced plans to export coal from the occupied Luhansk region. Experts consider them questionable

Oleg Knyazev, CEO of the Donskie Ugli Trading House, said that from October the company would start exporting coal through the port of occupied Mariupol. According to a report by the Russian media outlet RBC, it has not yet been determined where exactly: negotiations are allegedly underway with buyers in China, India, Iran, Uzbekistan, and Malaysia.

According to RBC, the company is also considering exporting through Russian ports in the Rostov region and by rail through Azerbaijan.

According to RBC, Donskie Ugli Trading House LLC was established in Rostov-on-Don in 2020. In 2024, it received ten mines, an enrichment plant and two freight transport companies as a “lease” from the “government” of the Luhansk “republic”. Until 2014, some of the “leased” mines belonged to Rinat Akhmetov’s Metinvest holding, while others belonged to a Ukrainian state-owned enterprise.

RBC noted that from 2021 to 2024, Donskie Ugli revenue fell from RUB 20.9 billion to RUB 1.2 billion. Moreover, while the company ended 2021 with a net profit of RUB 982.9 million, it ended 2023 with a net loss of RUB 57.2 million.

Nevertheless, the company management promises to invest RUB 2.9 billion of its own funds in the “leased” mines and is going to raise RUB 25-30 billion in loans. Donskie Ugli expects to increase production to 5 million tonnes by the end of 2025 with its own investments. According to RBC, the “leased” mines will produce 1 million tonnes in 2024.

According to Maxim Khudalov, chief strategist of the Russian investment company Vector X, quoted by RBC, Donskie Ugli could export up to 1.5 million tonnes of anthracite due to the unfavourable global coal market. Khudalov also suggested that the company plans would be affected by a significant shortage of personnel in the occupied region.

Mikhail Burmistrov, CEO of the Russian INFOLine-Analytics, suggested in a commentary to RBC that Donskie Ugli would only be able to supply coal from “leased” mines to the Russian market and, occasionally, to Iran.