I'd mentioned the shipment of 700,000 tons of coal from the US to Ukraine on another thread. Weaning the Ukraine away from evil Russian NG by supplying mountains of good American coal.
Terry
Its actually weaning West Ukraine off the much cheaper coal available in the Donbass (East Ukraine).
Well its a bright idea to make money for someone isn't it. Get Ukraine to boycot its own coal supply, and replace that coal with more expensive stuff from halfway around the planet. Ask Cui bono. Follow the money to find the clots who thought of it!
Is it possible for normal trade to happen between West Ukraine and Donbass (East Ukraine) given the recent (and continuing?) little local difficulties?
West Ukraine initiated a trade blockade of East Ukraine in early 2017, before that there was a free flow of goods. Seems they lost control of some of their military groups, which initiated a non-sanctioned blockade which then turned into an official one. The blockade is a direct contravention of the Minsk agreements.
The overall impact is very negative for West Ukraine, and the Donbas will become more integrated with Russia through increased trade. Ukraine could buy cheap coal from Russia, but they would rather cut off their nose ....
Donbas Trade Blockade Poses a Challenge to Ukrainian Authorities"The trade blockade will result in significant losses to the Ukrainian economy. According to estimates by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), the pace of economic growth in 2017 will likely slow by 1.3 percentage points to 1.9%. Because of mines in the contested regions of the country, Ukraine’s metallurgy sector, which amounts to 25% of the country’s exports, will be hardest hit at first. A fall in export revenues will deepen the current account deficit and negatively affect currency reserves (NBU already has revised down its forecast in those areas). The hryvnia exchange rate may also further weaken. Consequently, Ukraine’s government will have to carry on with reforms necessary to obtain the next tranches of an IMF credit.
The blockade also poses a challenge to Ukraine’s energy security. Every year, Ukraine uses over 9 million tonnes of anthracite coal (a third of its total coal usage), which is extracted in the occupied territories. So, until just the end of 2017, it will need to import 5 million tonnes from another source since, on the day the blockade was authorised, it had only enough for the next 28-60 days. Ukraine Energy and Coal Industry Minister Ihor Nasalyk excluded the possibility the country would import anthracite from Russia, although Ukraine bought some from it at the beginning of 2017. Instead, the additional coal will likely be bought from South Africa and the United States. The first delivery, though, needs to take place in May, so the state of emergency in the energy sector introduced by the Ukrainian government in mid-February will remain for a few more weeks."
https://www.pism.pl/publications/bulletin/no-38-978