FT: Russia’s coal industry suffers from sanctions, plunging prices

Russia’s coal sector has become one of the main economic victims of the full-scale war against Ukraine.

Sanctions, rising costs, and falling global prices have triggered the worst crisis in the industry in 30 years, Caliber.Az reports, citing Financial Times (FT).

Industry losses in the first seven months of the year amounted to $2.8 billion — double the total for 2024, according to the Russian statistics agency.

“War is bad for most Russian businesses, if not all of them. But the coal sector is in really deep shit,” a well-known Russian entrepreneur told the newspaper.

Although coal contributes less than 1% to Russia’s GDP and budget revenues, it employs over 140,000 people. In several regions, the industry remains an important source of jobs and tax income.

According to the Russian Ministry of Energy, by September, 23 coal companies — around 13% of the total — had ceased operations, while another 53 are on the brink of closure.

Jeyhun Aghazada