Ukrainian miners smoke cigarettes after their shift in a coal mine in Novodzerzhinsk on August 13, 2010. AFP The privatization of Ukrainian coal mines will be conducted under the control of the employees, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych announced at a celebratory meeting dedicated to the Miner's Day in the town of Stakhanov, Luhansk region.

"We have already conducted the inventory of all the mines and identified 63 promising investment projects. These projects are designed for five years and for a total of around UAH 50 billion investments," he said.

At the same time Yanukovych stressed that the state itself will not be able to find money within such a short period of time, therefore they need to look for efficient solutions.

"The program of reforms in 2010-2014 has clearly determined that the future privatization of state-owned coal enterprises will be controlled by the labor collectives, and will be well-organized and comprehensive. There will be no chaos," the president said. He also said that he would closely monitor these issues.