Ukraine is prepared to consider introducing quotas for the export of 100,000 tonnes of hard coal to Poland in September, Denys Shmyhal, the Ukrainian prime minister, has said. "Currently, together with the European Union we're preparing to go through the toughest winter in many years," Shmyhal wrote on the Telegram messaging app on Saturday. "Yesterday, we discussed a joint action plan in this respect with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki." Commenting on the amount of coal that Ukraine could export to Poland, Shmyhal said: "We're talking about 100,000 tonnes in September which are critically needed by our Polish partners."
The prime minister added that Ukraine had stockpiled nearly 2 million tonnes of coal, two-and-a-half times more than at the same time in the previous year. Poland has banned imports of Russian coal after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February. However, Poland is heavily reliant on coal for power generation and heating, and its own resources are not enough to satisfy the country's needs. The Polish government has contracted coal supplies from a number of countries but faces severe bottlenecks in its seaport and transport infrastructure.