NOVOAZOVSK, October 18 (RIA Novosti) – The authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) plan to nationalize distilleries, DPR Prime Minister Alexander Zakharchenko said Saturday.
"Distilleries will be placed under the government's control," Zakharchenko said at a meeting with voters in the city of Novoazovsk.
According to earlier reports, the mines located in the republic's territory, were under "temporary administration" of the local government.
The minister did not mention the timescales for the mines' nationalization.
Zakharchenko added that three major enterprises in the republic, including two factories owned by the oligarch Rinat Akhmetov, were brought under temporary government control.
Residents of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions declared independence following a February coup, refusing to recognize the new Kiev authorities. The republics declared their sovereignty based on the results of referendums held in May.
The Ukrainian parliament approved a law on self-administration in parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions on September 16. The law stipulates that local elections are to take place in the areas on December 7 and also guarantees the people of the region the right to use Russian or any other language. The leaders of the self-proclaimed republics have stressed that they want full independence from Ukraine and have set regional elections for November 2.
