BERDYANSK, Ukraine: Little appears to have changed for Alexei andrusenkoThe head of a foundry in Ukraine’s southern city of Burdiansk, which has been happy to lay off all its employees since Moscow took control of the city.
Andrusenko and his 50 or more employees continue to work every morning in the gray building on the outskirts of the port city on the shores of the Sea of Azov.
But now factory produce – once sold to Ukrainian or international steel groups – will be bound to Russia and Kremlin ally Belarus.
Since Russia sent troops to Ukraine on February 24 and captured areas in the south of the pro-Western country, Moscow has sought to strengthen its economic ties.
“We don’t have any other supply chains,” Andrusenko told AFP during a press visit organized by the Russian military.
He also expressed concern about the dwindling stock of his raw material which had earlier come from neighboring countries. MariupolAnother major Ukrainian city on the shores of the Azov Sea.
Andrusenko says he is “interested” in working with Alchevsk Steelworks, a large factory with more than 10,000 workers that has been under the control of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine’s Lugansk region since 2014.
These deals would never have been possible before Russia sent troops to Ukraine.
“The most important thing is to create the right supply chain and be able to work,” Andrusenko said.
The southern Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhya have been largely under Russian control since the first weeks of Moscow’s military campaign, and are now being forcefully integrated into Russia’s economy.
The main economic asset of Bardiansk is its port, which, unlike Mariupol, the scene of a disastrous siege, has remained mostly intact.
In late March, an attack attributed to Ukrainian forces reportedly sank a Russian warship in Bardiansk waters, but today the port is “almost 100 percent ready” for grain ships, says Alexander. soulenkoMoscow-founded head of Berdyansk.
Ukraine has accused Russia and its allies of stealing its wheat, which has contributed to a global food shortage caused by blocked grain exports to Ukraine’s ports.
According to Solenko, grain will soon be shipped out of the port, as the new crop will need to free the silos.
“We have possibilities of contracts with Turkey. Russia is an agricultural country, it has enough grain of its own so it would be more profitable to do business elsewhere,” Solenko said.
But Moscow’s most tangible effect on the local economy is the introduction of Russia’s national currency from last month.
“Now you can buy everything both in rubles and in Rivna,” said the pro-Russian official, the currency of Ukraine.
According to him, Berdysk received about 90 million rubles ($1.7 million) from Russia, but state employees are still paid in Rivna and it is impossible to withdraw cash rubles from ATMs.
Neighboring Melitopol, about 100 kilometers (60 mi) west of Burdiansk, which came under Russian control on 1 March, also uses the Russian ruble which is distributed from Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula to Moscow, Ukraine in 2014. was captured from.
“This is a two-currency zone … The ruble is given for the open road to Crimea. Commercial relations with Russia, interrupted after 2014, are resuming,” says pro-Russian mayor of Melitopol, Galina Danilchenko. Huh.
“People are happy to accept the ruble.
Back at the Burdisk foundry, 41-year-old worker Sergei Grigoriev says he just hopes to pay his salary.
“In cash, not on my card, because you can not withdraw from it. In Rivna or Ruble – I do not care”.
Andrusenko and his 50 or more employees continue to work every morning in the gray building on the outskirts of the port city on the shores of the Sea of Azov.
But now factory produce – once sold to Ukrainian or international steel groups – will be bound to Russia and Kremlin ally Belarus.
Since Russia sent troops to Ukraine on February 24 and captured areas in the south of the pro-Western country, Moscow has sought to strengthen its economic ties.
“We don’t have any other supply chains,” Andrusenko told AFP during a press visit organized by the Russian military.
He also expressed concern about the dwindling stock of his raw material which had earlier come from neighboring countries. MariupolAnother major Ukrainian city on the shores of the Azov Sea.
Andrusenko says he is “interested” in working with Alchevsk Steelworks, a large factory with more than 10,000 workers that has been under the control of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine’s Lugansk region since 2014.
These deals would never have been possible before Russia sent troops to Ukraine.
“The most important thing is to create the right supply chain and be able to work,” Andrusenko said.
The southern Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhya have been largely under Russian control since the first weeks of Moscow’s military campaign, and are now being forcefully integrated into Russia’s economy.
The main economic asset of Bardiansk is its port, which, unlike Mariupol, the scene of a disastrous siege, has remained mostly intact.
In late March, an attack attributed to Ukrainian forces reportedly sank a Russian warship in Bardiansk waters, but today the port is “almost 100 percent ready” for grain ships, says Alexander. soulenkoMoscow-founded head of Berdyansk.
Ukraine has accused Russia and its allies of stealing its wheat, which has contributed to a global food shortage caused by blocked grain exports to Ukraine’s ports.
According to Solenko, grain will soon be shipped out of the port, as the new crop will need to free the silos.
“We have possibilities of contracts with Turkey. Russia is an agricultural country, it has enough grain of its own so it would be more profitable to do business elsewhere,” Solenko said.
But Moscow’s most tangible effect on the local economy is the introduction of Russia’s national currency from last month.
“Now you can buy everything both in rubles and in Rivna,” said the pro-Russian official, the currency of Ukraine.
According to him, Berdysk received about 90 million rubles ($1.7 million) from Russia, but state employees are still paid in Rivna and it is impossible to withdraw cash rubles from ATMs.
Neighboring Melitopol, about 100 kilometers (60 mi) west of Burdiansk, which came under Russian control on 1 March, also uses the Russian ruble which is distributed from Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula to Moscow, Ukraine in 2014. was captured from.
“This is a two-currency zone … The ruble is given for the open road to Crimea. Commercial relations with Russia, interrupted after 2014, are resuming,” says pro-Russian mayor of Melitopol, Galina Danilchenko. Huh.
“People are happy to accept the ruble.
Back at the Burdisk foundry, 41-year-old worker Sergei Grigoriev says he just hopes to pay his salary.
“In cash, not on my card, because you can not withdraw from it. In Rivna or Ruble – I do not care”.