Ukraine’s coal miners are digging deep to power a country at war

DNIPROPETROVSK OBLAST, Ukraine (AP) — Deep within the earth in southeastern Ukraine, miners work around the clock to mine coal to support the country’s war effort and provide civilians with light and heat.

Coal is pivotal to meeting Ukraine’s energy needs after the Russian military’s 6-month campaign to destroy power plants Said the chief engineer of a mining company in Dnipropetrovsk province.

Elevators transport the company’s workers underground to the depths of the mine. From there, they operate the heavy machinery that mines the coal and transports the precious resource over the land. The miners said it was hard work, but necessary for the survival of the country.

“Today, energy independence in the country has become more than a priority,” said Oleksandr, the chief engineer, who, like all interviewed coal miners, spoke on condition that only his first name be given for security reasons.

Russian attacks on nuclear, thermal and other power plants in Ukraine continue to disrupt electricity service With the war continuing for the second year.

Disarmament negotiations of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plantCaptured last year by Kremlin forces at the start of the all-out invasion, it has come to a standstill. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky He opposes any proposal that would legitimize Russia’s control of the plant, which is the largest nuclear power facility in Europe.

At full capacity, the plant can produce 6,000 megawatts of electricity. Ukrainian plant operators shut down the last reactor in September, saying it was too risky to run while Russia bombed nearby areas.

Bombing destroyed the station several times, sparking fears of a possible nuclear meltdown. Russian missiles have also threatened power lines needed to run vital cooling equipment at Zaporozhye and other Ukrainian nuclear plants.

Before the war, the Ukrainian government planned to reduce the country’s dependence on coal-fired power plants, which contribute to global warming, and to increase nuclear power and natural gas production. But when Russian attacks destroyed thermal plants in the middle of winter, Oleksandr said, it was coal that helped keep Ukrainian homes warm.

The work of coal miners could not fully compensate for the energy loss from nuclear power plants, but every megawatt they had had a part in generating reduced gaps.

“We come and work with optimism, trying not to think about what’s going on outside the mine,” said a miner named Serhiy. “We work with a smile and forget about it. And when we leave, another life (for us) begins, of survival and everything else.”

While many miners from the region joined the armed forces when Russian forces invaded and are now fighting on the front in eastern Ukraine, nearly 150 displaced miners from other coal-producing regions in the east joined the team in Dnipropetrovsk.

A man named Yuri has left the town of Vohlidar in the embattled Donetsk province, where he worked as a coal miner for 20 years. “The war, of course, radically changed my life,” he said. “It is now impossible to live there and the mine I used to work in.”

“Life starts from scratch,” he said.

British military analysts reported on Saturday that they believe Russia’s campaign to smash Ukraine’s energy grid over the winter with massive missile and drone strikes “likely failed” and that the occupied country’s energy situation will improve as temperatures rise.

Britain’s Ministry of Defense said that while strikes have continued since October, large-scale attacks causing significant damage to infrastructure are becoming rare. The ministry said grid operators in Ukraine were also able to provide replacement transformers and other “vital” components to keep electricity flowing.

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Samia Kallab contributed to this story from Kiev, Ukraine.

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Follow AP coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine