Kyiv lifts sanctions against Russian coal supplier
Ukraine's Ministry of Economic Development and Trade has lifted sanctions against the Russian coal supplier Yuzhtrans. The decision is stipulated in the Ministry's order number 1905 dated December 29, 2017.
The sanctions against Yuzhtrans in the form of prohibition of foreign economic relations with this company were introduced by the Ministry's order number 1583 of October 30, 2017. They came into force on December 9, 2017.
In 2015, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) suspected Yuzhtrans of being involved in an illegal scheme to export coal from the uncontrolled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. According to the service, part of the profits was spent on financing the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic.
Yuzhtrans belongs to the South Coal Company group, which owns mining assets in the Rostov region of the Russian Federation. It supplies anthracite coal to several Ukrainian enterprises, including Donbasenergo.