Moscow-backed "Luhansk People's Republic" says it lacks funds for miners' pay, seeks support from Putin

Leonid Pasichnyk, the Moscow-appointed "head" of the so-called "Luhansk People's Republic" (LPR) terror organisation, has asked Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to help resolve problems in the coal industry due to a lack of funds for miners' wages.

Source: The Moscow Times, an independent Amsterdam-based news outlet

Details: Pasichnyk appealed to Putin because companies such as Trading House Donskie Ugli and the Rodina Industrial Group cannot launch investment projects at leased mines or pay wages due to underfunding.

He said the occupation authorities had already allocated over RUB 1 billion (approx. US$12 million) from the local budget through repayable loans to cover wage arrears.

Pasichnyk warned that if the companies fail to secure adequate financing, the mines will have to be shut down and mothballed.

In that case, federal subsidies of RUB 25.6 billion (US$314 million) will be needed by the end of 2028, as the "LPR" budget contains no funds for mothballing operations.

Background:

• Earlier this year, Russian companies leasing 15 coal mines in the occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts abandoned nine of them, citing unprofitability amid global coal prices and high production costs.
• For example, Impex-Don had leased two mines in the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic", while Donskie Ugli leased seven in the "LPR". The companies tried to return the mines to the occupation administrations for liquidation, despite previously promising to invest RUB 65 billion (US$797 million) into these sites.

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