The Pokrovsk mine was Ukraine’s only source of coking coal, essential for the steel industry. In 2023, Ukraine produced about 3.5 million tons of coke, relying solely on coking coal from Pokrovsk, Ukrkoks,

Ukraine has stopped production at its coking coal mine in Pokrovsk, which feeds the country's steel industry, because of the proximity of advancing Russian forces, two industry sources told Reuters on Monday.

MOSCOW/KYIV (Reuters) -Russian forces are closing in on the strategically important eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk after capturing a string of villages to its south, and Ukraine has halted production at its only coking coal mine nearby due to the advance.

The Russian army is strengthening its positions in villages around the key eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk in an attempt to encircle it and lay siege to a vital transport hub linking embattled Donbas with the rest of Ukraine.

Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov's Metinvest Group, the largest steel producer in Ukraine, is suspending the operations of the Pokrovske Coal Company (Pokrovske coal mine and Svyato-Varvarinskaya enrichment factory) due to the approaching front line,

Ukrainian forces have destroyed the No. 3 mine shaft in Pishchane, Donetsk Oblast, to prevent Russian troops from advancing closer to the strategic front-line town of Pokrovsk. This development was reported by The New York Times on January 15.

The Pokrowske coking coal mine production in the Donetsk region has been halted due to the Russian offensive. This company, crucial for the Ukrainian steel industry, is in direct danger. Metinvest, the largest Ukrainian mining and metallurgical holding,