War veterans and representatives of political forces blocked railways and roads in Donbas in mid-January / Photo from Vyacheslav Abroskin's Facebook page
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has instructed Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk to calculate Ukraine's losses from a blockade of trade with Russian-occupied Donbas.
"Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk has been instructed today to prepare calculations for the government. Having seen the estimates and minimized losses, the government should inform the public about the price Ukraine will pay for these irresponsible actions," he told Ukrainian television channels on Wednesday, March 15.
Read alsoAkhmetov's DTEK announces loss of control over mines and companies in Donbas"I have said that not only the so-called leaders of the "DPR" [the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic] and the "LPR" [the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic] but also those political forces that have taken credit for the blockade – these are the Batkivschyna and Samopomich [parliamentary factions] – will pay for that. People should know the names of their 'heroes,'" he said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, several Donbas war veterans and representatives of Ukrainian political forces blocked railways and roads in the east of Ukraine late in January in protest against trade with the occupiers. As a result of this, Ukrainian-registered coal mines located in occupied territory suspended coal shipments to Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises and power plants. In the middle of February, the Cabinet introduced special measures on the energy market to reduce coal consumption and consume power efficiently. The measures ensured the flawless operation of the country's power grids. At the same time, key steelmakers considerably cut production and warned about possible shutdowns.