Rebels said last week that they had “nationalized” holdings owned by Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man, and other oligarchs. On Wednesday, Akhmetov’s DTEK energy company said it had lost control of its main assets in the insurgent-held territories in the east. [...]
Dozens of activists have been blocking four railroad junctions since the end of January, preventing coal from the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk “People’s Republics” from traveling west into government-controlled areas, and, at the same time, stopping iron ore and other inputs for the steel industry from reaching factories in rebel-controlled territory. [...]
Wednesday’s announcement appears to show a shift in government policy, but the blockade leadership greeted the news cautiously. “I will propose to the blockaders that we supervise the implementation of the government’s decision,” Iegor Soboliev, an organizer, told POLITICO. “But until the blockade is fully established by the police and national guard, it’s too risky and not efficient to [dismantle our camps].” [...]
Ukraine buys no gas directly from Russia, relying for its energy on nuclear power and on coal. But the blockade now threatens access to coal, accounting for about a third of Ukraine’s energy mix, most of which comes from separatist-controlled regions.
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