Over 70% of coal, illegally taken from the occupied territories of Donbass to Russia, are then exported through 2 companies, connected with brothers Alexander and Sergei Melnichuks.
The former is the “deputy energy minister” of the so-called Lugansk People’s Republic, a terrorist organization, created and supported by Russia, while the latter legally trades in coal on Ukraine-controlled territory.
At first illegal coal is taken to Russian and then exported to Europe.
Some 20 enterprises in the Russia-supported terrorist-occupied Donbass sell coal to Russia. The largest of them are controlled by the authorities of the pseudo-republics.
At the Russian customs this coal is marked as imported from Ukraine and is then sold to Russian traders (over 30). Most of them were registered in 2014-2016 in Rostov region precisely for coal contracts.
In 2016 around 940 thousand tons of anthracite valued at $36 million were taken from occupied territories of Ukraine and transported to Russia, as well as some 95 thousand tons of other coal grades valued at $8 million. In 2015 Russia “imported” 1.3 million tons of coal. (Ukrainian metal)