Hundreds of workers continue their jobs at a coal mine in the Pokrovsk region of Donetsk Oblast, less than 10 kilometres from the frontlines where troops are battling Russia.

Since the start of Ukraine's war with Russia, this coal mine's workforce has been halved to just around 1,000.

Coal is central to fulfilling Ukraine's energy needs since Russia targeted several power stations and various other infrastructures.

According to the Ukrainian mining trade union, coal constitutes 95 percent of the country's domestic energy resources.

Ninety percent of Ukraine's coal reserves are located in the fiercely contested Donbas region which Russia in September 2022 declared its annexation.

This coal mine in the Donetsk Oblast is less than 10km from the frontlines, occasionally receiving artillery strikes from the Russian military.

Despite the conflict above the ground, work continues as normal 1km underground with 1000 workers still continuing to mine.

The work force used to be double that before the full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 but now it has halved due to many miners joining the military.

We where among some of the first journalists to have gained access to this specific coal mine in the East of Ukraine, providing a rare insight into continued practice of coal mining.

Coal mining is an essential part of this war with much of the coal being sent to the Ukrainian military.