The Donbas, which was an industrial flagship of Ukraine until 2014, is unable to compete with the russian economy after the russian occupation. This fact was acknowledged by Viktor Nikolaenko, the "Chairman of the Committee of the People's Council of the DNR on Industry and Trade".
"The countries have completely different potentials. For example, metallurgy in Russia is larger than in the former Ukraine. It can be represented in the DNR, along with energy, chemical, and coal industries, but it has its limits within the framework of Russia", - he noted.
Based on this, the "deputy" acknowledged that the occupied part of the Donetsk oblast should "determine which basic industries will allow it to reach new growth points".