Russia stole over 120,000 tons of coking coal from Ukrainian subsoil in Mariupol
23.04.2025 - 10:09
The Russian Federation continues to turn the occupied Ukrainian territories into a raw material appendage for waging war.
During 2024–2025, Russia illegally exported more than 120 thousand tons of Ukrainian coking coal from occupied Mariupol. This was reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.
“While the world is riveted to news from the front, where Ukraine is desperately defending its territory, another, less noticeable form of aggression is ongoing on the temporarily occupied Ukrainian lands. This is resource colonization,” the SVR notes.
Russia actively uses Ukrainian coal to support its own military economy, in particular thermal generation and metallurgy, which ensures the production of armored vehicles, ammunition and warships.
Among the ships that participated in the illegal export of coal are Alfa-1, Alfa M, Alpha Hermes, Victoria K and Victoria V, each of which delivered from 5 to 40 thousand tons of raw materials. The Russian companies Nika Shipping LLC, PKF Sibmarket LLC, and Alfa LLC are involved in organizing the illegal export.
Ukrainian intelligence emphasizes that such activities violate the norms of international humanitarian law, in particular the Hague Convention of 1907, which prohibits the use of resources of the occupied territory without the consent of the legitimate authorities. However, the impunity of these actions only encourages further exploitation and strengthens the economic capacity of the Russian military machine.
The systematic exploitation of the subsoil of the occupied Donbas is part of Russia’s strategy for resource colonization – the war continues not only on the battlefield, but also in the economic space.
The day before, USM wrote that the Russian Federation is intensifying the development of river infrastructure in the Kherson region for military purposes.
