«Moscow has ... sought to flood some captured coal mines to render them useless should Ukraine regain lost territory. They are just trying to destroy our economy»,
- Maxim Timchenko for The Washington Post.
Here are the key messages:
- “Those that left to fight at the front are fighting for us down here,” said Yuri, a 29-year-old excavator operator. “We need to get as much coal as we can. The country needs it”;
- “russian occupation of Ukrainian territory has direct implications for Western energy security,” said Robert Muggah, SecDev co-founder. “Unless the Europeans can rapidly diversify oil and gas sources, they will remain highly dependent on Russian hydrocarbons”;
- Dmytro, a third-generation miner, led a crew of 157 before the war. A third of them have since enlisted as soldiers. “We have to stop the occupiers from reaching us,” he said.
“The russians don’t just steal our resources. They destroy everything in their path”
- The losses, if permanent, would compel what’s left of Ukraine to realign its economy. The possible upside: a modernization that could make its dated steel plants more efficient and greener. Early estimates suggest the price tag for rebuilding the broader economy range upward of $750 billion.
