Russia launches mass attack on Ukrainian coal mine, nearly 200 miners evacuated
Editor's Note: This story has been updated with the latest developments.
Russia launched a large-scale attack against a coal mine in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on Oct. 19, trapping 192 employees underground, the Ukrainian energy company DTEK reported.
The strike marks the fourth large-scale attack on DTEK coal enterprises over the past two months, the company said.
At the time of the strike, 192 miners were underground at the enterprise, DTEK said. An evacuation was carried out to bring the employees to the surface.
The company later announced that all 192 employees had been safely returned to the surface. None of the miners were injured.
DTEK is the largest private energy company in Ukraine. Its facilities have been targeted in multiple Russian strikes, forcing production halts and disrupting residential heating supplies.
Russia has ramped up strikes against Ukraine's energy system heading into the colder season, striking critical infrastructure and leaving hundreds of thousands of households without power. Ukrainians are bracing for another winter of blackouts as Russia aims to impose what President Volodymyr Zelensky described as an "energy disaster" across the country.
Dominic Culverwell
