Ukraine passes resolution to ban Ukrainian coal, gas to meet domestic demand amid war

Amid the ongoing war, Ukraine has announced to ban the export of Ukrainian coal, gas and fuel oil to meet the domestic demands. According to the statement released by the Ukrainian government on Monday, it has passed a resolution that prohibited the export of coal, fuel oil and domestically produced gas in a list of commodities whose export is restricted at a time of war. As per the resolution, the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and the imposition of martial law in Ukraine are the reasons for restricting the export of core energy resources outside the war-ravaged country.

The major development came nearly a week after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that his country would be suspending all coal and gas exports. Citing the reason, Zelenskyy said that the forthcoming winter would be the "most difficult" during all years of independence. "Due to the war, it will indeed be the most difficult winter during all years of independence. During this period, we won’t sell our gas and coal abroad. All domestic production will focus on meeting the internal demand," TASS news agency quoted Zelenskyy as saying during a video address last week.

Earlier last week, Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said that the coal production in the country has already declined by one-third since the onset of the brutal Russian invasion. He had said the country needs to stockpile enough coal and gas reserves to meet the domestic demands during the peak winter season. He also described the upcoming winter season as the most "difficult one" due to the war.

Russia ready to negotiate, says Upper House Speaker

Notably, Russia started the "special military operation" earlier on February 24 alleging Ukraine had been planning to join the NATO military alliance. However, Zelenskyy, on several occasions, clarified that Ukraine has no intention to be a NATO alliance in the "near future". Earlier last month, Moscow's upper parliament house speaker said Russia is ready to hold negotiations with Kyiv to restore peace in the region. The speaker said the Putin administration is open to talks with Ukraine and signing agreements that would lead to peace. She said that the Russian government is ready to solve the issue diplomatically and added a will for this is needed on both sides. However, she claimed that the Zelenskyy administration has shown no interest in resolving the issue. 

Image: AP/Pixabay