“Deadlock”: Donbass Blockade Risks Plunging the Ukraine into Energy Collapse

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On Friday, Ukrainian President P A Poroshenko enacted a decree earlier adopted by the National Security and Defence Council on diversification of coal supply sources and creating reserves of power generating coal. In addition, the Council also decided to tighten control over the products’ movement in the Donbass region. It mandated that the government develop measures to neutralise threats to Ukrainian energy security and imposing a ban on anthracite exports from Ukraine. It also puts the government in charge of rebuilding transportation infrastructure damaged during the military operation in the Donbass.

In late December 2016, a so-called Ukrainian “volunteer fighters group” declared a trade and economic blockade of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) and Lugansk People’s Republic (LNR). According to the group, any trade operations with the LNR or DNR are illegal. The blockade resulted in disruptions in anthracite shipments from the Donbass Peoples Republics and forced the Ukraine to introduce a state of emergency in the energy sector. On Monday, Energy Minister I S Nasalik said that the country’s reserves of coal for energy-generating power plants might dry up in 45 days if they don’t lift the blockade. Russian journalist and industrial expert Leonid Khazanov emphasised:

The measures Kiev is taking are insufficient to resolve the energy conundrum. The Ukraine is risking plunging into an energy catastrophe, with everything that implies for its people and the Ukrainian industrial sector. However, if [the government] wanted to fight radicals they would’ve taken real measures, not just a decree. It seems that President Poroshenko has no control over the situation on the railways or he fears an escalation. Kiev could compensate for the coal shortage with supplies from Russia and other countries. However, the Ukraine lacks financial resources and the West is unlikely to come to its help in this situation. The question now is where to buy coal. One option is to buy supplies from Russia. Other variants include other foreign markets, but they’re more expensive than shipments from the Donbass or Russia. If the Ukraine decides to find other foreign suppliers, not all of them would agree to work with Kiev due to its financial difficulties. The Ukraine doesn’t have the money to afford such shipments. They could ask for help from the IMF or the USA. However, I don’t think they would give them the money. Western politicians are pragmatic. What can Poroshenko give them in exchange? His loyalty [to the West] isn’t enough. The situation in the Ukrainian energy sector is in deadlock. Maybe Kiev should initiate dialogue with the Donbass or ask help from Russia, but Kiev-Moscow ties are very tense now. As I see it, the Ukraine is nearly at a standstill.

19 February 2017

Sputnik International

https://sputniknews.com/europe/201702191050837470-ukraine-donbass-energy-crisis/

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South Ukrainian AES Shut Down… Crank Yank Fuel Rods to Blame

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Per the Ukrainian media, the junta had to shut down the South Ukrainian AES in Nikolayev Oblast due to crank fuel rods from Westinghouse in the USA. The staff onsite warned the junta that the Yank rods wouldn’t work, but the dunderhead Galician Uniate fascists wouldn’t listen (“You hit it wit’ hammer and it’ll work”). That means that 9 percent of electrical generating capacity is now offline for an unforeseen (and probably not short) period. The “Ukrainian” economy is shutting down bit-by-bit, and the Yank neoliberals can’t do a damn thing to stop it… all that their “aid” does is to prolong the death throes of the failed “Ukrainian” pseudo-state. Dear God, do cut the time of the evil Uniate/schismo junta short… the innocent people living in the failed “Ukraine” don’t deserve this. Here’s a titbit that my local contacts tell me… the draft dodging rate is HIGHEST amongst Galician Uniates! Methinks that rank n’ file Uniates don’t share the delusions of their “betters”… or… they may be merely “Uniates” because nationalists seized their parish, and they had nowhere else to go to… it’s a possibility, no?

BMD

Ukrainian Coal Reserves are Less than 50 Percent of the Normal Amount

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Editor:

Because of uncertainties in my work life, I haven’t posted as much on the Peoples Republics as in the past. I intend to resume such, trying to do a story a day on these brave Orthodox socialist states facing down the rightwing Uniate klepto-junta in Kiev. There’s a stark dichotomy here… communal and God-pleasing Orthodox socialism on the one side… selfish and demonic Uniate crapitalist imposture on the other. There is NO doubt about where Orthodox people should stand…

Life IS returning to normal in the Peoples Republics; life is falling into the abyss in junta-misruled Banderstan. Let God see and judge…

BMD

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Eduard Polyakov, Head of the Department of Industrial Development Strategy for the Head of the DNR Government, told us:

The statements of the Ukrainian authorities that they have enough coal stocks in their warehouses are nothing more than PR ploys. According to our information, now, Ukrainian warehouses hold a little more than 2 million tonnes of coal reserves. Typically, at this time of the year, the normal amount of coal in storage is 4.5 million tonnes. Because of this, the Ukrainians will have to slash electrical and heat output. The price of electricity in the Ukraine is more than 30 percent higher than it is in the DNR, even though Kiev has some of the cheapest costs in the world for nuclear power generation, and hydropower makes up about 10 to 15 percent of their power grid. Yet, their energy rates are higher than ours are. According to our sources, at first, the embargo on supplying coal to the Ukraine will last for two weeks. This is a reaction to Kiev’s decision to postpone payments for coal deliveries. The embargo began this week; our source didn’t give an exact date.

In addition, DNR Head of Government A V Zakharchenko put another condition to resume coal shipments to the junta… it must restore Crimea’s power supply. A few hours later, Ukrainian Minister of Energy and Coal Industry Vladimir Demchishin told reporters that the Ukraine needed to repair at least one of the power lines to the Crimea to end the coal embargo.

28 November 2015

DAN Donetsk News Agency

http://dan-news.info/ukraine/zapasov-uglya-na-ukrainskix-skladax-pochti-v-dva-raza-menshe-normy-vlasti-dnr.html

DNR Resumed Limited Coal Deliveries to the Ukraine on a Barter Basis

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Today, DNR Transport Minister Semyon Kuzmenko told us that the DNR resumed limited supply of coal to the Ukrainian enterprise DTEK in exchange for electricity from Zuevskaya TES:

We restored supplies to DTEK in return for electricity from Zuevskaya TES… it’s a kind of barter. Zuevskaya TES suffered problems because it used a coal (“G”) not mined in the DNR. DTEK Pavlogradugol is the normal supplier of coal to the Zuevskaya TES, but it can’t get DNR anthracite coal to supply to its customers. DTEK made an advance payment, so, we sent the first batch of anthracite coal in 100-150 goods wagons. The DNR has to barter to serve its own interests. To avoid damage to our energy infrastructure, we’re doing this. We don’t act like the Ukraine, which does harm to itself. We’re now negotiating over trade in coal with other Ukrainian enterprises.

14 September 2015

DAN Donetsk News Agency

http://dan-news.info/ekonomika/dnr-vozobnovila-postavki-uglya-na-ukrainu-no-tolko-dlya-dteka-na-barternoj-osnove-kuzmenko.html