The eastern territories of Ukraine are the industrial centres of the country. Mining of coal, metal, processing and production mostly takes place there. The proximity of the Azov and Black seas makes export profitable. And these territories were occupied by Russia. Yuriy Ryzhenkov, CEO of the Metinvest Group (which includes Azovstal), reported on the multimillion-dollar stocks of metal products that are blocked in the occupied territories and that are regularly stolen by the Russians. Russians take the stolen metal product to Rostov-on-Don and then sell it to countries in Africa and Asia.
"What they are doing is basically looting. They steal not only our products but also some of these products that are already owned by European customers. So, in fact, they are not only stealing from us, they are also stealing from Europeans," Yuriy Ryzhenkov.
Metinvest collects the facts of theft and looting and will file a lawsuit in court at the appropriate time.
