Donetsk, Apr 10 – DAN. Ukrainian president Petr Poroshenko openly lies saying that trade blockade of Donbass followed the external management introduction at Ukrainian enterprises in DPR and LPR, said deputy head of Donbass Republic social movement Olga Pozdnyakova.
"External management was introduced by DPR Head's decree to stabilize the situation, to provide people with jobs, to secure enterprises' operation. Due to the blockade flagship enterprises were suspending operation and the situation could not be tolerated. That's why the external management was introduced."
She emphasized that the latest stage of the blockade started in late January when Ukrainian radicals cut railway lines going to LPR. It can easily be verified with news reports, photos and videos published by various mass media.
Employees of Ukrainian enterprises in Donbass supported the initiative to introduce receivership.
"Kiev's picture of the world is distorted and they try to impose it on everyone, they have always called Donbass a "subsidies region", but it turned out that local enterprises bring considerable profits, taxes were paid to Ukraine's budget and used for the war among other things. Now these money will be used to develop the Republic and Kiev is definitely not happy about it. Poroshenko now does everything to distort the truth and openly lies about the external management in DPR," she said.
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A new round of economic blockade of Donbass started in January 2017. Former participants of the offensive blocked railroad between Gorskoye and Zolotoye (LPR territory). The radicals said the aim was to interrupt trade with LPR. Later they blocked Svetlanovo station in the vicinity of Pervomaisk, the railroad tracks in the area of occupied Artyemovsk (DPR) and Yasinovataya-Skotovataya stretch.
Ukrainian Rada extremists supported the "trade blockade", while radicals said the drive shall be permanent.
On February 27, DPR and LPR Heads Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitskiy warned Kiev that the Republics would put Ukrainian companies under receivership and halt coal supplies to Ukraine if the transport blockade was not lifted by 1 March. As Kiev failed to meet the requirements the external management was introduced at 43 Ukrainian enterprises.
Among the Ukrainian companies are such industrial giants as Enakievo Steel Plant and its Makeyevka branch, Khartsyzsk Pipe Plant, Yasinovsky Coking Chemistry Plant, Dokuchaevsk Flux-Dolomite Complex, Konzern Stirol, DTEK enterprises, DonetskStal Steel Plant, Komsomolets Donbassa mine, Zasyadtko mine, Zuivskaya thermal power station.
Viktor Medvedchuk, leader of 'Ukrainian choice – People's Right' movement, cited Ukrainian Federation of Metallurgists report showing that Donbass blockade will cut Ukraine's foreign exchange earnings by $2.5 billion. Ukraine's budget will lose 2.5-3 billion hryvnias.
The halt of coal export from Donbass to Ukraine forced Kiev authorities to declare an emergency in power industry. A number of major enterprises suspended operation.
Poroshenko's response came only in mid-March as he called an extraordinary meeting of the national security and defense council of Ukraine and sharply criticized radicals' actions. Though that very day he enacted the council's decision on full transport blockade of Donbass. *ot