coucou3d ago
Tim Mak

Good morning to readers; #Kyiv remains in Ukrainian hands.

#Russia is exploiting the coal-rich Ukrainian areas it occupies.

Through interviews and #OSINT research we investigated how Russia exports stolen #coal to Turkey, the abuse of miners and the Russian take over of the mines.

Jun 17 at 1:06pmWeb
Show threadTim Mak3d ago

For more than a decade, #Russia has been destroying not only the lives of Ukrainians above ground, but also those beneath it.

One of the biggest victims of the war is the miners, who spend most of their time underground extracting the mineral wealth of #Ukraine.

Show threadTim Mak3d ago

According to #Forbes, #Ukraine boasts an estimated $14.8 trillion in mineral resources, 62 percent of which is in #coal.

Since 2014, #Russia has consistently been taking over Ukrainian mines. As of 2022, Russia had seized 63 percent of Ukraine's coal deposits.

Show threadTim Mak3d ago
#Russia has started illegally exporting coal for resale at some mines. This coal is produced, sold (often to foreign buyers), and then physically transported by Russian ships from the occupied port of #Mariupol.
Show threadTim Mak3d ago
The Counteroffensive has established that #Russia has used three vessels — ALFA 1, ALPHA HERMES and VIKTORIA V — to operate on the occupied territories and export coal illegally.
Show threadTim Mak3d ago
The Counteroffensive also found that one of the biggest regional #coal exporters – Don Coal Trade House, operating five mines in the occupied #Luhansk region – systematically shipped coal from the occupied territories to #Turkey in 2024.
Show threadTim Mak3d ago
Such actions – and ongoing impunity for #Russia – incentivizes dictatorships to revive colonial practices, in which occupied territories become a raw material base for enriching far-off metropolitan areas.
Show threadTim Mak3d ago
To learn more about our #investigation into how #Russia is stealing Ukraine's trillion-dollar mineral wealth, click the link.

https://www.counteroffensive.news/p/investigation-how-russia-steals-ukraines
Investigation: How Russia steals Ukraine's trillion-dollar mineral wealth

Our investigation into how Russia has been destroying Ukrainian coal mines revealed theft of equipment, illegal exports of coal, and harsh treatment of workers.

The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak
Show threadTim Mak3d ago

#NEWS OF THE DAY:

TRUMP’S CALL FOR #RUSSIA TO REJOIN AT G7 SUMMIT AS IT STRIKES KYIV:
Despite a fresh Russian attack on Kyiv, Donald #Trump repeated his call to readmit Russia to the G7, calling its 2014 expulsion “a big mistake.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/16/donald-trump-repeats-call-for-russia-to-be-readmitted-at-g7-summit-in-canada

Donald Trump repeats call for Russia to be readmitted at G7 summit in Canada

US president said Ukraine war would not have happened if Moscow had not been thrown out in 2014 over Crimea

The Guardian
Show threadTim Mak3d ago

#UKRAINE OPENS LITHIUM DEPOSITS TO INVESTORS UNDER U.S.-#UKRAINE MINERAL DEAL: On Monday, the Ukrainian government approved access for private companies to develop one of its largest state-owned lithium deposits – the Dobra site in the Kirovohrad region.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/world/europe/us-ukraine-minerals-deal.html

Ukraine Takes First Step Toward Carrying Out Minerals Deal With U.S.

The government is trying to show the Trump administration that it can deliver on the agreement.

The New York Times
Show threadTim Mak3d ago

#DENMARK DEPLOYS ROBOTIC SAILBOATS TO SECURE #BALTIC, NORTH SEAS: The Danish military is using uncrewed sailboats to monitor the increasingly tense waters of the Baltic and North Seas. The vessels can detect activity up to 20–30 miles above and below the surface.

https://apnews.com/article/denmark-robot-sailboats-baltic-sea-bfa31c98cf7c93320115c0ad0e6908c5

Denmark launches robotic sailboats for surveillance in Baltic and North Seas

Four uncrewed robotic sailboats known as “Voyagers” have been put into service by the Danish Armed Forces for a three-month operational trial. They are built by California-based Saildrone. The vessels will patrol Danish and NATO waters in the Baltic and North seas where maritime tensions and suspected sabotage have escalated sharply since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Two of the Voyagers launched Monday from Koge Marina. The location is about 40 kilometers or 25 miles south of Copenhagen. The vessels are powered by wind and solar energy. They can operate autonomously for months at sea. Saildrone says the vessels carry advanced sensor suites like radar, infrared and optical cameras, sonar and acoustic monitoring.

AP News
Show threadTim Mak3d ago
Today’s cat of conflict is very famous among students of Veronika and Zoriana’s university. Seen on the car, he is just a chill guy.
Show threadTim Mak3d ago

Real stories with real people, straight from #Ukraine.

To subscribe to The Counteroffensive for free, click on the link.

Join us on the frontlines!

https://www.counteroffensive.news/

The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak | Substack

A war correspondent's open notebook, reporting live from Kyiv. Human stories that illustrate what’s happening during the war in Ukraine, and elsewhere on the frontlines for democracy. Issues 3x a week! Click to read The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak, a Substack publication with hundreds of thousands of subscribers.

Show threadLarry Garfield3d ago
@timkmak Unfortunately, even Ukraine needs to not use that coal. Not if we want the world to survive.