July 3, 2025 - Financial support for Russia's coal industry will total tens of billions of rubles, Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Sazanov said in an interview published in newspaper Vedomosti on Thursday.

"Yes, on our part in the form of deferrals and instalments for taxes and fees," Sazanov said when asked if measures to support the coal industry are actually being considered.

He said "there is no concrete text of a government resolution at this point," so it is difficult to say to what extent this support will be felt by the budget.

"A decision has been made conceptually, but who will fall within the scope of deferrals has not been determined yet. One must understand that the coal sector is large, many people work in it. Deferral will apply to insurance contributions and the [mineral extraction tax]. This will involve tens of billions of rubles," Sazanov said.

The Russian government approved a set of measures to support the coal industry at the end of May. Among other things, they call for the approval of financial recovery plans for companies in the sector and restrictions on dividend payments. Companies will be provided with targeted subsidies to offset a portion of logistics costs for coal exports over long distances.

All coal companies will get a deferral on the mineral extraction tax and social security contributions until December 1. Companies with large debt burdens will be given the opportunity to restructure their debt. Siberian coal companies will be compensated for 12.8% of the rate for export shipments of coal by rail on the northwestern and southern routes.

The government said it would use a targeted approach when distributing the support to coal companies.