A new investigation by Russian opposition outlet Vazhnyi Istorii has linked Oleksandr Yanukovych, the son of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, to the large-scale export of coal from Russian-occupied territories in Donbas. The report, published on 4 February 2025, states that Yanukovych’s affiliated company has moved nearly 500,000 tons of coal abroad, primarily to Türkiye, over the past two years.
According to the investigation, coal from occupied Ukrainian mines is transported through Russian railway stations, such as Uspenskaya and Gukovo in Rostov Oblast adjacent to the occupied Donbas region, where it is falsely labeled as Russian-origin coal. The coal is then sold at reduced prices to offshore companies, which later resell it at market rates, keeping the profits in offshore accounts registered in the British Virgin Islands.
Journalists traced one of the key companies involved, Energoresurs, registered in Rostov-on-Don in a run-down office building. The company, which has no public business presence, is linked to Yanukovych through its executives, who have previously worked in his other financial ventures.
Ukrainian news site Inforpost previously reported that the Uspenskaya station, where the coal is declared for export, has been dubbed the “Bermuda Triangle” due to discrepancies in customs records. Official railway data sometimes recorded thousands of railcars at a station with only four tracks and no coal-loading infrastructure, suggesting that export declarations were manipulated to disguise the true origin of the coal.
Financial records show that Energoresurs, along with its affiliates, has been transferring revenue from coal sales to offshore firms, with profits reportedly reaching billions. One of the key intermediary firms, Energy Union, is registered in the British Virgin Islands and has been involved in handling most of the coal exports from occupied Donbas since 2023.
During Viktor Yanukovych’s presidency (2010–2014), his son, Oleksandr Yanukovych, dominated Ukraine’s coal exports through his company, Mako Trading, until his father was ousted in 2014. After fleeing to Russia, he continued financial operations through restructured entities, with his name repeatedly appearing in offshore financial investigations.
Oleksandr Yanukovych is currently wanted in Ukraine, and the European Union has imposed sanctions against him for supporting pro-Russian forces. Swiss authorities have frozen some of his assets, but the full extent of his financial activities remains largely undisclosed.
Related:
- Ukraine suspends coking coal mining near Donetsk’s Pokrovsk amid Russian advance
- Kremlin rejects freezing war in Ukraine, allegedly proposed by Turkish President
- UK intel: Russia steals Ukraine’s mineral resources in occupied areas
- The revolution that refused to be crushed: how Ukraine’s Euromaidan defied Russia’s subterfuge
- Reuters: Russia exports coal from occupied Ukrainian territory to Türkiye (2023)
- Fugitive Ukraine’s President Yanukovych recalls his lawyers from treason trial, files motion over “coup d’état” (2017)