Ukraine blew up the No. 3 mine's shaft in the village of Pishchane in Donetsk Oblast to prevent Russia from deploying its troops closer to the front-line town of Pokrovsk, The New York Times (NYT) reported on Jan. 15, citing miners.
According to the Ukrainian miners, at some point, the shaft, located southeast of Pokrovsk, became too dangerous to work in due to constant Russian attacks. They switched to descending into the mine through another shaft.
Pokrovsk, a crucial logistics hub for Ukrainian forces, has been the focus of fierce fighting as Russia intensifies its offensive in Donetsk Oblast.
In the meantime, Russian troops advanced to within a mile of mine No. 3, raising fears that they could seize it and use its tunnels to outflank Ukraine's positions, according to the NYT.
The miners and Ukrainian soldiers began drilling holes under the shaft to plant explosives, several workers told the outlet. The shaft was blown up around Dec. 20, 2024.
Keeping the mine operational as long as possible was crucial to the Ukrainian economy, as it produced coking coal required for steelmaking — Ukraine's second-largest export after agriculture.
An unnamed manager at Metinvest, Ukraine's largest steel producer, told the NYT that explosives were also planted in the facility’s two other shafts located further west, near the Ukraine-controlled villages of Kotlyne and Udachne. It is unknown whether they have been detonated.
Earlier this month, Metinvest announced it had suspended operations at the Pokrovsk coking coal mine in Donetsk Oblast due to worsening security conditions and power outages.
Steel exports generated nearly $2 billion in the first eight months of 2024, with production projected to reach 7.5 million metric tons by year-end. Plans to increase output to over 10 million tons in 2025 are now threatened, as the loss of Pokrovsk could slash annual production to 2-3 million tons, according to Reuters.
Kateryna Denisova
