Ukraine loses 80% of oil and gas deposits in Black Sea due to annexation of Crimea

"Ukraine has lost 80% of oil and gas deposits in the Black Sea and a significant part of the port infrastructure due to the annexation of Crimea. The negative impact caused by the loss of ports is now being aggravated by Russia’s obstruction of the vessels in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. Up to now, 115 out of 150 coal mines are located in the temporarily occupied territories. The defense industry suffered nearly the biggest losses. We lost 13 state-owned enterprises in the annexed Crimea and ten enterprises in the temporarily occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions," First Vice Prime Minister - Economic Development and Trade Minister of Ukraine Stepan Kubiv said at the Cabinet’s meeting, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

In addition, he said, the traditional sales market for the Ukrainian defense industry was lost as it had been focused mainly on the CIS countries.

"The hybrid aggression of the Russian Federation triggered the crisis in 2014, but Ukraine managed to defend its independence thanks to the decisive actions of real patriots and statespeople," Kubiv stressed.

As the First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine noted, the Revolution of Dignity brought Ukraine back to the epicenter of world politics five years ago.

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