The Ukrainian government extended the state of emergency in the electricity market on May 11 for one more month due to a crisis over anthracite coking coal supplies caused by a blockade of rail links from the war-torn Donbas region.

Kyiv imposed temporary emergency measures for the first time in February, after a group of far-right nationalists and veterans of the Donbas conflict imposed the trade blockade with coal-producing eastern parts of the country, controlled by Russia-backed rebels. In March, the Ukrainian government made the initial one-month extension of the emergency measures.

The actions led to shortages of anthracite coal, which produces a third of all electricity in the country. Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Hennadiy Zubko said the government could impose rolling blackouts in several regions due to the shortages.

On March 15, a day after an abortive attempt by law enforcers to break up the unofficial blockade, the Ukrainian leadership then imposed an official trade blockade on Donbas. President Petro Poroshenko instructed the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) to suspend transport communications with rebel-held areas.

On May 11, Nasalyk said that the introduction of the state of emergency allowed it to save 1.7mn tonnes of coal and boost its stocks at warehouses to 2.2mn tonnes, which is the same as the stock levels recorded in autumn 2016, before the start of the heating season, Interfax news agency reported.

According to the official data, the contribution of nuclear energy in electricity generation in Ukraine in April reached 62.5% compared to 47% in May 2016.