Zakharchenko: DPR cannot export any goods because no country recognizes it
The head of the DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic), Alexander Zakharchenko, said that he does not like the state of industry in the separatist-controlled territory of the Donetsk region.
"Any enterprise - machine building, machine tool construction - assumes a certificate. These are documents that are recognized throughout the world. Unfortunately, at the moment we do not have this. The development of our industry is hampered not only by a lack of finance - we don’t have that either. But politically ... We understand that we can produce and can even find a buyer for it, but we cannot sell, because we are unrecognized. This is a problem," Zakharchenko said during TV broadcast.
He hopes that Russia will work on the issue of certificates of compliance being recognized.
According to Zakharchenko, many plants and factories were abandoned before the fighting began. Another significant problem he cited is the lack of money for the restoration of abandoned enterprises, as well as the shortage of specialists who can work on the equipment of these enterprises. “For now the DPR is only thinking about launching these enterprises and finding markets for their products, where we did not operate before."
In the spring of 2017, the DPR authorities announced the seizure of several dozen Ukrainian enterprises. Most of them belong to Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov. Some are state-owned and others belong to individual owners.
The seizure of enterprises occurred almost simultaneously with the trade blockade first announced by volunteer battalions, and then officially supported by Ukrainian authorities.