Editor's note: The article was corrected to indicate that only one of the mining sites at the Pokrovsk coal mine was suspended, while others remain operational.
Metinvest, Ukraine's largest steel producer, has suspended operations at one of its sites at the Pischane coal plant near the front-line town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, the company announced in a statement on Dec. 12.
The closure comes amid an increasingly dangerous Russian advance towards Pokrovsk, a key Ukrainian logistics hub. Ukraine lost key positions near the town to advancing Russian troops over the past day.
Metinvest said the closure of the mining site and an administrative building was a response to intensified shelling in the sector. There are three mining sites in the area in total.
The company also said the front line was expanding and moving closer to the mine. Core personnel have been evacuated along with their families, the statement said.
Metinvest will continue to monitor the security situation alongside local authorities, the company said. Decisions regarding the plant will be made as the situation on the frontline evolves.
Pischane is the largest coking coal producer in Ukraine, and one of the largest in Eastern Europe. The site provided half of Metinvest's coal volume, used to produce steel at the company's many plants. Loss of the mine would be a major blow to Ukraine's steel production industry.
A full closure of the plant could diminish Ukrainian steel production to only 2-3 million metric tons, down from a projected 7.5 million by the end of 2024, Oleksandr Kalenkov, the head of Ukraine's steelmakers' association, said on Oct. 16.
The Metinvest steel company has already faced significant losses amid Russia's war against Ukraine. The company lost the infamous Azovstal plant in the early days of the full-scale invasion. The plant was the last line of defense for Ukrainian troops against the Russian occupation of Mariupol.
Steel production is one of Ukraine's leading industries and the second-largest source of foreign currency after agriculture.
Kateryna Denisova
