Authorities promise to thoroughly investigate into facts of blocking Zaporizhstal

“We’ve been doing everything in Zaporizhia region since March to stabilize the situation in Zaporizhia and Zaporizhia region and unite efforts of all nongovernmental organizations and fight separatism. Nongovernmental organizations, law-enforcement agencies and Self-Defense groups took active part in this – we acted together. Unfortunately, recently I saw absolutely illegal actions which destabilize the operation of a large number of employees thanks to whom our pensioners receive pensions and payments to the budget are sent,” Baranov said in an interview with the local newspaper.

Baranov said that he talked to Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk on Oct. 18 and raised the issue. He said that the prime minister and interior minister of Ukraine ordered law-enforcement agencies to stop any attempts of destabilizing the situation.

According to a press release of the SCM, over 80 percent of residents of Zaporizhia region have a negative attitude to attempts of destabilizing the situation in the region and blocking the operation of Zaporizhstal.

As reported, about 100 to 150 unidentified aggressively-looking men wearing masks and clothes with symbols of the Ukrainian nationalist movement Right Sector attempted to raid the Zaporizhstal metallurgy plant on the morning of Oct. 18.

It was reported earlier that a group of people wearing masks and Right Sector symbols had blocked Zaporizhstal’s main entrances on Oct. 15, putting its operations at risk. In particular, the attackers blocked the plant’s transport routes to obstruct its work. Zaporizhstal on Oct. 18 filed a claim to the law-enforcement agencies.

The OSCE mission also expressed its concerns about the plant’s blockade.

Currently Zaporizhstal is working stably, in the usual regime.

Zaporizhstal is one of the largest industrial enterprises in Ukraine. It specializes in the production of high-quality hot-rolled steel coils, hot-rolled sheets, cold-rolled sheets, cold-rolled carbon and low-alloy steel coils, steel strap, roll-formed sections, and other products.

The plant’s principal clients are producers of welded pipes, automobiles, other transport vehicles, agricultural machinery, and household appliances.