Yuri Plakitkin, the deputy director of the Institute for Energy Studies of the RAS, speaks about coal demand during the heating season and the energy security of Ukraine. In September the Ukrainian government signed an agreement with a company from South Africa on importing 1 million tons of coal. It was broken in early November by the supplier, after the first part of supplies (3.5 thousand tons). The main reason for this was Kiev's inability to pay. It will take time to sign a new contract, while Ukraine has no time, as winter is coming. The energy security of the country is under threat. The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine states it should cooperate with Russian suppliers or Donbas.
