Members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ 58th Brigade made a request to the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the top political leadership of the country to support the blockade between Ukraine and so-called Russian self-proclaimed the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR or LNR) and the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR or DNR).
See also: Profit from war – illegal export of coal from Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia
“We, the 16th Battalion of the 58th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, appeal to the country’s top leadership and first of all President Petro Poroshenko to cease all trade and financial transactions with the separatists in the temporarily occupied territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions,” state members of Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Officially all this money Ukrainian government pays to coal mining companies controlled by pro-Russian oligarchs like Rinat Akhmetov.
See also: Akhmetov still tops richest Ukrainians list, Poroshenko`s income $100 mln up
These companies have saved their factories in occupied territories because of the Russia’s protection and sell coal to Ukraine. All financial payments between oligarch companies and people on the occupied territories are totally unofficial.
The video posted by soldier Mykola Voroshnov on Facebook states that all money transferred from this trade with Russian terrorists is spent on terrorism.
“We also demand to stop smuggling all along the border with the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Each hryvnia transferred to the “DPR”/”LPR” is spent on the terrorism – the terrorism that has been keeping our country on alert for three years in a row,” state Members of Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Soldiers of the 16th Battalion of the 58th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine request to cease all trade and financial transactions with the Russian terrorists in the occupied territories of the Donbas region.
“We support no political force, but condemn coercion, especially physical one exerted on veterans of the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) fighting against funding occupants by means of trade blockade in the Luhansk region,” reads the request.
Actually, members of Ukrainian Armed Forces state that they understand temporary difficulties in the absence of energy from the Donbas, though call to stop trading with illegally occupied by the Russian Federation territories in the memory and honor of those Ukrainian soldiers who put their lives and health in this war.
“Our relatives and friends understand the problem and are prepared to face the temporary problems which can arise over shortage of energy commodities delivered from the Donbas. The memory and honor of those soldiers who lost their health and lives at this murderous war is worth far more than this.
“We understand that a lot of residents of the occupied territories love and support Ukraine. Therefore, we ask them to bear with this trade embargo since there were no instances in the history when a country at war was feeding its enemy. The army of Ukraine stands with the Ukrainian people. Glory to Ukraine!” the soldiers said.
The Ukrainain Infrastructure Minister, Volodymyr Omelyan, stressed that the purchase of coal from the Russian occupied territories in Donbas is a political decision that will be taken by the country’s leadership, reports Chetverta Vlada.
“There is a political decision that we buy coal from those companies that operate in the in the occupied territories. Ukrzaliznytsya ensures the delivery of coal. This has to do with the coal supply to Ukraine for our thermal power plants. There have always been problems, blackmail from their side. And we were forced to give the people who service these deliveries and work on the uncontrolled territories employment in Ukrzaliznytsya and provide them with payroll cards. Today it’s 30% of the number of employees who worked there before the war,” the Minister said.
Recently, on January 25, 2017, anti-terrorist operation (ATO) veterans, volunteers and patriots blocked the Luhansk-Popasna haul, launching a trade blockade of the occupied Donbas areas. The movement of 12 trains with a total of 700 cars has been barred. On February 2, 2017 members of the trade blockade barred another railroad track near Bakhmut. To disperse the blockade in the area of Bakhmut on February 2, 2017, were sent two buses of armed Ukrainian police and the so-called “titushky” (criminalized groups, term derives from the surname of Vadym Titushko, who attacked journalists of the 5th Channel in 2013), emerged accompanied by the police. ATO veterans and members of the blockade were beaten by the police and titushky.
Police beats Ukrainian army veterans who blocked the road
Ukrainian government brought to the place of blockade a bus with titushky
