In 2025, the Government approved the Programme for the Operation of State-Owned Coal Mining Enterprises through 2030. The document was developed by the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine to provide a comprehensive solution to the long-standing challenges facing the state-owned segment of the coal industry.
Wage arrears to miners, declining coal output, outdated material and technical infrastructure, and the operation of mines without reconstruction for more than 40 years represent only a partial list of the sector’s problems that have accumulated over decades. Had delays continued, Ukraine could have completely lost its coal production within just a few years.
The Programme takes into account global trends in energy market dynamics (supply–demand–price), as the coal sector has been steadily growing worldwide over the past decade. According to forecasts by the International Energy Agency, global coal production is expected to increase annually by 1.4–2 percent through 2035. For Ukraine, which under wartime conditions more than ever recognises the importance of safeguarding its own energy security, losing the coal industry is unacceptable.
The Programme envisages systemic measures for the “rehabilitation” of Ukraine’s coal mining sector. At the first stage, it proposes the establishment of a single state-owned joint-stock company based on the most promising coal mines and other structural units of state-owned coal enterprises. The reform also предусматривает optimisation of organisational structure and management, as well as the concentration of all available material, technical and financial resources to ensure efficient operations in the most promising areas. This approach will make it possible to move enterprises out of loss-making operations and create conditions for attracting non-state investment into the sector.
The expected outcomes of the reform also include:
- establishment of effective mechanisms for social protection of workers;
- restoration of domestic coal beneficiation capacities using modern, waste-free technologies;
- improvement of quality control over coal products and introduction of scientifically substantiated assessment methodologies;
- provision of scientific support for technological and technical modernisation processes, reduction of costs and shortening of project implementation timelines;
- reduction of the burden on the state budget and an increase in revenues to local budgets of coal-mining regions resulting from profitable operations of sector enterprises;
- ensuring that Ukraine is supplied with the necessary coal products to strengthen energy security and system resilience.
Thus, strengthening energy security, attracting investment, and creating conditions for the break-even operation of the coal mining complex are among the key priorities set for this year and will remain the focus of efforts in the years ahead.
