Four coal mines in Kryvyi Rih were suspended indefinitely after the missile attack.
Krivoy Rog is located in the Dnipropetrovsk region, which after 2014 became the largest coal mining region in Ukraine. According to the Ministry of Energy, about 55% of all coal production in the country in 2021 came from the Dnipropetrovsk region.
According to city officials, the missile strike cut off power to four mines, initially trapping miners underground and knocking out equipment and ventilation.
Shortly after that, all the miners were evacuated to the surface.
Ukraine is heavily dependent on coal for electricity and heat generation, and its largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, is currently closed due to ongoing shelling in the area.
As a result of the missile strikes, Ukraine has suspended electricity exports to the EU until the internal energy system stabilizes.
Ukraine's coal stocks have fallen to around 2 million tonnes as of September 30 from 2.2 million tonnes as of September 14 due to strong demand from electricity producers. The country plans to accumulate 2.5 million tons before the start of the heating season at the end of this month.
In 2021, Ukraine produced 29.39 million tons of coal, which is 2% more than a year earlier.
The government has stopped publishing data on coal production since the beginning of the Russian military special operation.
