A key coal mine in eastern Ukraine is reported to have stopped production as Russian troops approach

As Russian troops approach, Pokrovsk, an industrial city in Ukraine's Donetsk region, is reported to have halted production of coking coal mines that feed Ukraine's steel industry.

Two industry sources told Reuters on Monday that the coking coal mine in Pokrovsk had been shut down as Russian troops approached, with production at the mine halted and only surface work retained, while evacuations were under way.

According to the National Coke Association of Ukraine, the country's coke production in 2023 is about 3.5 million metric tons, using all of the coking coal mined in Pokrovsk.

Since the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine, steel production in Ukraine has been affected. Russian troops have been advancing toward the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk and, according to DeepState, a Ukrainian military analysis blog, are within two kilometers of one of the mines there.

The Union of Ukrainian Steel Manufacturers said last year that Pokrovsk's coal mine could close, leading to a drop in steel production from 7.6 million tons in 2024 to 2 million to 3 million tons in 2025.

If Russian forces capture Pokrovsk, producers say they hope to find alternative sources of coking coal from elsewhere in Ukraine, but would inevitably need to import it, driving up costs.