The "DNR" leader admitted that coal production in the region has decreased 13 times compared to pre-2014 levels, and the "SMO" has set the industry back even further

Denis Pushilin, the head of the "DNR", acknowledged that coal production in the region has dropped 13 times since the russian occupation in 2014. He made this admission in a comment to a russian TV channel.

"Currently, we can say that 12 coal enterprises are producing coal. This is not much compared to...", - the collaborator hesitated, avoiding the comparison with 2013, the last year before the russian occupation of parts of the Donetsk oblast. "With more favorable periods for this industry", - he eventually found the right words.

Additionally, he admitted that with the start of the "special military operation", coal production at the captured mines decreased even further. "In 2022-2023, due to military actions, we see a reduction in production – it is now about 3 million tons", - Pushilin noted.

As previously reported, in 2013, mines in the Donetsk oblast produced 37.5 million tons of coal.