15 February 2017, Wednesday, 20:01 61

Groysman: Blocking Of Railways Along Separation Line In Donbas Will Force Steel Plants To Shut Down

Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman believes that the blocking of railways along the separation line in Donbas by activists will force steel plants to stop operations.

Groysman stated this during a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"The blockade - and I am now talking about what can be used in the Ukrainian metallurgical complex - will result in shutdown of Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises... This can only be described as undermining the economy," he said.

According to the prime minister, the steel industry currently employs 300,000 people and steel exports account for about 20% of Ukraine's foreign-currency earnings.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the Ministry for Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons announced on January 31 that the blocking of railways along the separation line in Luhansk region by activists had inflicted losses worth UAH 37 million.

About 50 people in camouflage clothing, including parliamentary deputies Semen Semenchenko, Pavlo Kostenko, Taras Pastukh (all members of the Samopomich Association faction), and Volodymyr Parasiuk (independent) began blocking the movement of trains on the Svetlanov-Shipilova railway stretch in Popasnia district of Luhansk region on January 25.