Rostislav Ishchenko: The Ukrainian economy could not withstand the war for Donbass
The cessation of electricity supplies from Ukraine to the LPR is evidence that the Ukrainian economy could not withstand the war for Donbass, political scientist Rostislav Ishchenko writes today in the Izvestia newspaper.
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“The actual final transfer of Donbass by Ukraine “to the balance” of Russia indicates only one thing. Kyiv, in fact, does not have enough resources even to maintain normal statehood within the borders of the territory under its control. He can no longer economically withstand the fight for Donbass, and he can forget about Crimea altogether,” the expert states.
“Of course there will be problems. Even the first day of the cessation of electricity supplies from Ukraine showed that Lugansk could be immediately independently provided with electricity at 65–70 percent of the demand, and the region (the part controlled by the LPR) at 45–50%.
But unlike Crimea, in the DPR and LPR there is no need to pull cables across the strait. Energy networks have been interconnected since Soviet times...
Thus, the severance of Ukraine’s energy ties with Donbass is an insignificant additional burden for Russia, which has already been supporting the republics for three years and helping them restore the work of industrial enterprises, which also provides markets for their products,” recalls Ishchenko.
In his opinion, one of the reasons for the energy blockade of the LPR is as follows:
“In Ukraine there is an influential and constantly growing group of politicians who believe that Donbass must be “thrown off the balance” under any plausible pretext. This, in theory, will stop the war, allow the consolidation of the regime and should extend the life of Ukraine for an extra 5–7 years,” explains the expert.
“In fact, the blockade, now also an energy blockade, will only lead to the acceleration of inevitable processes. Both the final break between Donbass and Ukraine and the finishing off of the pitiful remnants of Ukrainian industry,” Ishchenko predicts.
Rostislav Ishchenko: The Ukrainian economy couldn't withstand the war for Donbass.