About 20,000 people continue to work in coalmines in Donetsk region – governor

Vadym Filashkin, head of the region's military administration, announced this on Ukrainian television, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The coal industry still makes a significant contribution to the economy of the Donetsk region. This is a very responsible direction, and about 20,000 people work in the mines of the region alone. Some 1,300 of them were employed recently, during the past year," Filashkin said.

He noted that the miner's monthly salary now ranges from UAH 25,000 to UAH 75,000.

"We understand that the coal industry is very necessary. This is the responsible work of miners, because all our thermal power plants work on coal," Filashkin said.

The Donetsk region has been under constant shelling by Russian troops, with the enemy killing and injuring civilians, and destroying residential and administrative buildings, energy and infrastructure facilities almost every day. The Donetsk region has the longest front line of about 300 kilometers.

As of January 2024, about 524,000 people lived in parts of the Donetsk region controlled by the Ukrainian government.