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Russia’s Occupation Turns to 19th-Century Gold Mining Schemes in Luhansk
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
Russian occupation authorities in eastern Ukraine are attempting to revive 19th-century-style “gold mining” projects to mask the collapse of the coal industry and months-long wage arrears owed to miners, according to Oleksii Kharchenko, head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, who commented on the situation on February 3.
Kharchenko said that in the Rovenky community, located in the occupied part of the Luhansk region, occupation officials have issued four licenses for geological exploration and mineral extraction, including permits ostensibly linked to gold and associated metals.
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The move comes despite the fact that local miners have not been paid for six months, underscoring what Ukrainian officials describe as an attempt to distract from a deepening economic crisis in the region.
According to Kharchenko, the centerpiece of what he called another “scam of the century” is the Bobrykivske deposit, where the occupiers claim they intend to “restore” precious metal extraction. In reality, the area’s primary gold reserves were exhausted back in the 19th century, making any large-scale revival economically implausible.
This is not the first time occupation authorities have tried to simulate an industrial breakthrough. Similar auctions and “investment” initiatives launched roughly a year and a half ago ended in financial losses.
Despite that record, the occupiers have once again issued licenses and promised “golden mountains,” Ukrainian officials say, in an effort to divert attention from the near-total collapse of the coal sector.
Behind the rhetoric, the real economy in the occupied part of Luhansk region remains effectively paralyzed. Even at the Bilorichenska mine, long considered one of the area’s most stable and profitable operations, the situation has deteriorated sharply.
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Miners there last received wages in summer 2025, Kharchenko said. Instead of the modernization promised by new Russian-appointed managers, resources are being extracted without proper compensation for labor.
Despite ongoing coal sales and nominal profitability, wages are not reaching workers, leaving thousands without income and with little prospect of relief.
Earlier, reports emerged that Russia launched what Ukrainian officials describe as a sweeping campaign of forced mobilization in the temporarily occupied parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions—an effort increasingly resembling the deliberate disposal of the local population.
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