© AFPA blockade by nationalist Ukrainian lawmakers and veterans of the ongoing war in the east has caused almost all rail traffic in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions to cease.
Starting at midnight, March 1st, the republics of Donbass introduced external management at Ukrainian enterprises. In the Donetsk People's Republic alone, more than 40 enterprises fall under the new rule. And we are dealing with rather large and, in rarer cases, mid-range facilities.
The question of transferring oligarchic property over to republican management is one of the most acute and important issues in the republics. Therefore, let us pay attention to the background of this matter.
Oligarchy is a phenomenon of the modern capitalist world.
These are the owners of large fortunes whose influence is not limited to mere financial power. In accordance with Karl Marx's formula, oligarchs convert economic power into political power (although the emergence of oligarchy in the former USSR was the opposite: access to political power opened up the opportunity for enrichment).
Following President Putin's rise to power in Russia, the oligarchs were subjected (albeit not completely) to the state. In Ukraine, the oligarchs proved stronger than the state. Their money organized the Euromaidan
coup d'etat from the very beginning, after which the oligarch media-mogul Poroshenko became the head of state.
Comment: The
blockade on the Donbass began in January. Hilariously, it has led to coal shortages in Western Ukraine, prompting "emergency measures" in the energy sector, including production halts in several industries. DPR/LPR announced on 27 Feb. that they would cease all coal deliveries if the blockade continued. Some plants in the Donbass have also shut down production as a result of the blockade. Under the new nationalization plan, employees will keep their jobs, but control will be passed to a new HQ controlled by DPR/LPR. Donbass residents are
cheering the move, believing it will improve trade relations with Russia.
RFE/RL adds:
Ukrainian Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko warned that Kyiv would add references to the seizures to its international lawsuits against Russia, saying that "Moscow rules the authorities" in the separatist-held areas and adding: "Russia will bear liability for this."
Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has requested permission for the police to
break the blockade.
Don't miss Ruslan Ostashko's analysis either:
Donbass blockade will spell the end of Poroshenko and Akhmetov
Comment: With ISIS evacuating this area, what will Erdogan's excuse be to remain in Syria? Will he risk attacking the US-backed YPG? It is most likely the SDF/YPG, Russia and the Syrian Army will cooperate. Erdogan's options: fight, deal or go home.
After rumors of this deal, the Russian Reconciliation Center sent a first convoy of food, meds, and necessities to Manbij. Russia also informed the U.S. of the convoys. However, fighting between the SDF and the Turkey-backed FSA continue in the area. Civilians are fleeing, and U.S. armored vehicles are being deployed north and west of Manbij.