Pro-Russian forces threaten to seize enterprises in east
Pro-Russia forces have threatened to take control of state-run businesses in eastern Ukraine unless Kiev ends a rail blockade by nationalist protesters.
In a statement published on Monday, leaders of the pro-Russia forces said that they would install "external managers" at industries on their territory as the month-long blockade, which has halted the transport of coal supplies, has caused many businesses to suffer in the country’s Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
"You know well that because of the rail blockade … some enterprises stopped working. We understand clearly that these enterprises must start working again, that we need to think about people, so we've made a decision that if by Wednesday they do not register as locals, all of them will be transferred under our control," said Alexander Zakharchenko, the leader of east Ukraine’s Russia-backed forces.
"These enterprises will be oriented towards the Russian Federation, to receive raw materials (from Russia) and to produce," he added.
The statement also noted that selling coal to Ukraine would be stopped and the future coal supplies would be sent to Russia or elsewhere.
A group of Ukrainian lawmakers and veterans have blocked rail traffic in the coal-rich eastern regions for the past month. The measure has prevented coal produced in the region from reaching Ukrainian power plants and the steel industry.
Ukraine’s government has said that low coal stocks in the plants could lead to rolling blackouts.
Donetsk and Lugansk, which are mainly Russian-speaking regions, have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations to silence pro-Russia protests there in mid-April 2014. More than 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict so far.
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