avdiivka-coke-plant
A road towards the frontline town of Avdiivka, with the Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant -- one of the top five coke producing plants in Europe -- operating in the background. Constructed by the USSR in 1963, the plant produced 12,000 tons of coke per day (instrumental to Ukraine’s steel production), worth $2.4 million, but has fallen to less than half this production since the beginning of the war. It was temporarily closed in 2014 after being caught in the crossfire between Russian-backed separatists (who temporarily seized control of Avdiivka) and the Ukrainian forces (who regained control). The plant resumed production in 2014 but continues to sustain damage from artillery shelling (at least ten employees of the factory have been killed since 2014). Avdiivka, Ukraine 2019