What to do in response

The enterprises of Ukrainian jurisdictions located in the temporarily occupied territory of Donbass are transferred to the "external management". The relevant documents were signed by the Heads of the DPR and LPR Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky, the Donetsk news agency reports .

The taxes of such enterprises will enter the budgets of the DPR and LPR.

On Monday, Zakharchenko and Plotnitsky demanded that Kyiv stop the transport blockade of Donbass until March 1. In case of failure to fulfill the requirements of the authorities of the self -proclaimed republics, they promised to introduce external administration at the enterprises of Ukrainian jurisdiction and stop supplying coal to Ukraine.

On Tuesday, the acting Minister of Economic Development of the DPR, Victoria Romanyuk, called the "most important strategic task" to control Ukrainian enterprises. “We have all the mechanisms to carry out this transition, with automatic reorientation to Russia as quickly and painlessly as possible,” she said.

The press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov refused to call an “squeezm” the management of external management at Ukrainian enterprises. “I don’t think that the word“ squeezer ”is applicable here and I don’t think that it would be correct to call it“ squeezing ”. We are witnesses that the regions rejected by their state fall into an even more difficult position, being placed in the conditions of the blockade from extremists,” said Peskov.

According to the press secretary, the actions that are taken by the authorities of the self-proclaimed republics, "to some extent can be understood." “We are talking about the lives of several million people. People need to survive,” Peskov emphasized. He noted that the issues of the work of the enterprises themselves have nothing to do with Russia, which, the words of Peskov, "has a certain influence on representatives of the Donbass, but does not manage them."

Currently, several large factories and dozens of mines that preserve Ukrainian jurisdiction are operating on the controlled DPR and LPR of the territory. Among them are more than 20 mines, the largest of which the Zasyadko mine in Donetsk, as well as a number of metallurgical enterprises. Salary for their employees is paid in Ukrainian hryvnias.

The blockade of trade with the occupied territories was initiated by veterans of the battalions Donbass and Aidar at the end of last year . The deputies from the opposition party "Self -help" also participate in it. Initially, the main requirement of the blockade was the liberation of captured military personnel and volunteers held by the separatists. However, then the requirements were transformed. Now the blockade participants require the adoption of the law "On the occupied territories", the termination of coal supply from the regions uncontrolled by Ukraine and the complete rupture of any economic ties with them.

On February 15, the Ukrainian government was forced to introduce a state of emergency in the field of energy due to blocking the supply of anthracite from the territories of Donbass occupied by separatists. A number of Ukrainian enterprises were forced to reduce production due to a lack of raw materials.

Last week, Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman again called for stopping the blockade. "Energy blockade can lead to two negative consequences. The first is fan shutdown. In a few weeks, we can develop the accumulated coal. Another negative factor is the stop of metallurgy, which forms 12 percent of GDP and 20 percent of foreign exchange earnings. This will undermine the national currency course, will lead to strong destructive consequences, - said the head of government.“ I am again addressing Blocades: I am against smuggling and abuse.