Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper since 1995

Oleksiy Boyko Miners are protesting and worried that nobody is buying their coal.

About 900 coal miners from eastern Ukraine protested outside the government building in Kyiv on June 2, with smaller crowds of 150-250 still holding out by June 4. The hard-working miners demanded that the government resume purchases of coal from the state-owned mines that they work at, and pay wage arrears that have been increasing lately. The miners represented coal mines which were leased out and managed by private enterprises, though trouble is also said to be brewing at state-run and privately-owned coal mines. With Ukraine’s economy deep in recession, demand for coal produced by 150-plus mines operating in the country has eroded. Officials said more than 2.5 millions tons of coal worth more than Hr 1.5 billion has piled up at state-owned mines. Nobody is eager to buy it, neither the state nor private enterprises.