Denis Pushilin, the head of the "DNR", acknowledged that coal production in the region has dropped 13 times since the russian occupation in 2014. He made this admission in a comment to a russian TV channel.
"Currently, we can say that 12 coal enterprises are producing coal. This is not much compared to...", - the collaborator hesitated, avoiding the comparison with 2013, the last year before the russian occupation of parts of the Donetsk oblast. "With more favorable periods for this industry", - he eventually found the right words.
Additionally, he admitted that with the start of the "special military operation", coal production at the captured mines decreased even further. "In 2022-2023, due to military actions, we see a reduction in production – it is now about 3 million tons", - Pushilin noted.
As previously reported, in 2013, mines in the Donetsk oblast produced 37.5 million tons of coal.