Ukraine to start receiving coal from US for first time

The United States is set to start shipping coal to Ukraine for the first time under a "historic" deal announced on July 31 that should help the crisis-hit nation end reliance on Russia.

The agreement inked earlier this month by U.S. firm Xcoal Energy & Resources and Ukraine's state-owned energy firm Centrenergo will see some 700,000 tons of coal delivered by the end of the year.

The move marks a sharp reversal for ex-Soviet Ukraine as it battles a Russian-backed insurgency, and a victory for U.S. President Donald Trump, who championed the deal as he seeks to bolster the American coal sector.     

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross hailed the agreement to export thermal coal, saying it "has brought enormous benefit to our nation's coal communities," one of Trump's signature campaign promises.

In addition, the deal "will allow Ukraine to diversify its energy sources ahead of the coming winter, helping bolster a key strategic partner against regional pressures that seek to undermine U.S. interests," Ross said in a statement.

Thermal coal, used in power plants and for heating, has a much lower market price than metallurgical coal.

Ukraine has been scrambling to acquire reserves of the fuel needed to keep thermal power plants running since cutting off deliveries from the separatist-controlled regions in the east of the country in March, even turning to Russia which it accuses of supporting the separatists.

The rebel regions had continued to supply the specific type of coal used for producing heating fuel to the rest of Ukraine even as the two sides waged a three-year war that has claimed more than 10,000 lives.

Speaking at the U.S. Embassy in Kiev, Xcoal president Ernie Thrasher hailed the deal...