Entire Factory Illegally Transported from Ukraine to Russia Resumes Operations
A Ukrainian factory which was repossessed by Russia and illegally transported from eastern Ukraine has started its work in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky in Russia's Rostov Oblast. The factory was removed from the Lugansk region of Ukraine in 2014 under the cover of military groups, as reported by Rossiiskaya Gazeta.
The Kamensky Transport Machinery Plant, formerly the Lugansk Electromechanical Plant, specializes in the production of equipment for rail transport and ore-mining. The equipment produced by the plant is used in many locomotives that are common in Russia, Ukraine, and the rest of the CIS.
Vladimir Chuchin, who was the head of the Lugansk Electromechanical Plant, fled Ukraine and has been appointed as Director of the new factory. He claims that despite the fact that the move was not in accordance with Ukrainian law, it is justified economically.
Experts, however, disagree with this assessment, as the plant is now cut off from foreign investment due to the economic sanctions imposed by western countries because of Russia's role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. What is more, much of the machinery used in the factory was produced by the German company Niles, and requires technical expertise that is difficult to find in Russia's workforce that is now isolated from the global market.
The factory is one of many in eastern Ukraine that was expropriated by Russia over the last two years.