DONETSK (Sputnik) — The authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) nationalized nearly 40 Ukrainian-jurisdiction enterprises in Donbass because of the transport blockade in the region, DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko said Wednesday.
"About 40 enterprises… External administration has been introduced at almost all of them, with few exceptions," Zakharchenko told reporters.
In late January, a group of former participants of Ukraine's military operation in Donbas, including Ukrainian lawmakers, blocked on some sections freight railroad links with areas in Donbas not controlled by Kiev. They claimed that any trade with the self-proclaimed republics was illegal, and all ongoing trade transportation meant smuggling. The blockade has led to a disruption in anthracite coal supplies to Ukraine, which forced the Ukrainian authorities to introduce emergency measures in the energy sector in order to save resources.
