Russia will send coal and electricity to Ukraine, which is dealing with a supply shortage due to fighting in the east, without requiring advanced payment.
Under the deal, Russia will send 500,000 tons of coal to Ukraine each month with the possibility of sending an additional 500,000 tons, according to Reuters. The wire service reported Ukraine’s coal inventories have dwindled to 1.5 million tons compared with the normal winter supply of between 4 and 5 million tons.
The agreement comes as fighting in Ukraine’s industrialized east rages on. The fighting in the east has throttled coal supplies that provide Ukraine with about 40 percent of its power.
Ukraine has alleged Russian-sympathizing rebels there are being aided by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special forces — a charge Moscow denies — in what’s become a civil war following the annexation of Crimea in March.
