Groysman calls for ending siege of critical goods from Donbas
Further blocking of rail cargo traffic to and from Donbas will lead to a crisis in the energy and metallurgical sectors, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said, adding that the supply of critical goods should be unblocked.
"Certain Ukrainians have been trying to thwart the heating season and to initiate rolling blackouts with their own hands. This is inadmissible; we should make a distinction between a crackdown on contraband and a fight against the Ukrainian people," he said in the opening remarks at a governmental meeting in Kyiv on Tuesday.
"I believe we can easily use the critical imports of a minimal set of products mined in Ukraine," Groysman said.
These deliveries are vital for metallurgy, which employs 300,000 people and provides a substantial portion of the country's exports and hard currency earnings, he said.
"The Avdiyivka Coke Plant shut down once because of a Russian attack. It can shut down again because we have no raw materials," the prime minister said.
Ukraine generates over 30% of its electricity using coal, and some cities, such as Kyiv, Kharkiv, Cherkasy and Chernihiv, are highly dependent on coal as a heating agent.
"Anthracite coal is mined in the territory which is temporarily beyond our control. It will take three to five years and annual investments of at least UAH 15 billion to conduct modernization, to stop using that coal, and to shift to the use of gas extracted in the territory we control," the prime minister said.
The government is diversifying supply of energy resources, but this will take time, he said.