Sweaty, tired and sooty-faced, hundreds of miners step out of the elevators at the coal mine in the Dnipro region of southeastern Ukraine. Hard work, but absolutely necessary to keep the country rolling, everyone agrees.
– Independent energy supply has become the top priority and coal mines are an important part of that, says Oleksandr, chief engineer at the coal mine.
More and more electricity
Ukraine stopped all electricity exports in October last year, but on April 7 it was announced that it would once again open up to exporting electricity, as long as its own needs are covered.
“The worst winter has passed,” Ukraine’s energy minister said in a statement, adding that the power grid had been operating without major interruptions for nearly two months and that revenue from a possible power surplus would go toward rebuilding the energy infrastructure.
Exposed infrastructure
During the winter months, thousands of rocket and drone attacks were directed at Ukrainian energy infrastructure, resulting in severe blackouts.
The Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant used to account for a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity supply, before it became a battlefield. A year ago, Russian forces seized the power plant and still occupy it. The disconnected nuclear power plant is now described as a Russian military base to the great concern of the outside world.
Dark, dirty and absolutely necessary. Follow us down into the Ukrainian coal mine in the clip above.