Russians Export 120,000 Tons of Ukrainian Coking Coal From Mariupol Port in 2024-2025

This volume is sufficient to produce thousands of tons of steel, which is used to make armored vehicles, ammunition, and warships.

From 2024 to 2025, the Russian occupiers exported through the port of Mariupol 120,000 tons of coking coal taken from the temporarily occupied territories in the Ukrainian Donbas.

This was reported by the CFTS portal, citing Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service.

While most of Russia’s coal production capacity is concentrated in the Kemerovo region (up to 60% of bituminous coal, 80% of coking coal, and 100% of selected high-grade coal), Russian companies are interested in coal from the temporarily occupied territories in the Ukrainian Donbas.

“Mariupol, which was a powerful center of metallurgy and the coal industry in Ukraine before the occupation, found itself under resource colonization in 2024-2025, with Russia exporting coking coal (used as fuel for thermal power generation) on an industrial scale from the temporarily occupied territories through the city’s port, using Ukraine’s natural resources to support its own economy, which is sustaining the war,” the Foreign Intelligence Service said.

This is a deliberate strategy of economic exploitation of the occupied territories, which violates international law and the rules of warfare enshrined in the Hague Conventions. Russia has created its own “shadow economy” powered by the assets of the captured city.

During this period, the ship Alfa-1 exported over 20,000 tons of coking coal, the ship Alfa M about 40,000 tons, the ship Alpha Hermes over 5,000 tons, the ship Victoria K over 20,000 tons, and the ship Victoria V over 35,000 tons (a total of 120,000 tons).

“This figure is ... sufficient to produce thousands of tons of steel for the manufacture of armored vehicles, ammunition, and warships,” the Foreign Intelligence Service said.