'Go to Donetsk through Russia, where border is not under control'

18/08/2015 - 01:50

In the report of the Russian journalist from the occupied Luhansk, the following phrase catches the eye: "There are plenty of Belarusian products in the stores. Russian products, of course, dominate, but Belarusian goods are widespread as well."

"We have a lot of Belarusian beer,confirms resident of Donetsk. It comes in various containers: glass bottles of 0.5 liter and plastic bottles of 1.5 liter. They have Belarusian excise duty stamp as they should. I saw Belavezhskaye with my own eyes. A 1.5 liter bottle cost 55 hryvnias."

Many stores are also selling Belarusian milk products, oil and condensed milk. As evidence, they send me a picture of the latter. I also get a photo of beer and a receipt from a Donetsk shop...

How is that possible? Official Minsk does not recognize any of the PRD and PRL. It considers this territory with which there is no legal trade belonging to Ukraine. How do the Belarusian products get there? Maybe it is done through uncontrolled Russia-Ukraine border as contraband? I called the Brest brewery, producer of the Belavezhskaye beer to ask them the question, how a businessman from Donetsk could buy their goods?

"The fact is that we already have a representative in Donetsk. You need to talk to him - he will tell everything, all the details... These are our representatives, and at the moment we are working with them," shocks me an employee of the brewery.

So this is how it is! Not even a separate semi-truck that fearlessly broke through the checkpoints of the Ukrainian army, but a whole representative. The story takes an unexpected turn.

I then dialed the Rahachou Milk Factory. Here, too, I told the story of "a businessman from Donetsk, who wants to buy the products, but does not know how."

"It depends on how much he wants, you know? After all, getting there with less than a truck does not make sense. If it is too much for him, you should contact the people who carry large volumes - even by trucks," said a factory employee without getting surprised by my proposal.

Euroradio: I think that a truck for him is a normal amount.

Rahachou: Why is he himself afraid to call? If anything, they do have the Internet there? Let him send his proposals to our address. But you know, there is one thing: it is necessary that his firm is registered in Ukraine, not in Donetsk and some PRD or PRL - only in Ukraine. Let him write to us, and we'll call him later ourselves.

Euroradio: what if there is a problem with registration or volumes, whom can he contact there?

Rahachou: There is a company, which from time to time buys goods from us. For example, Luganskprodlogistika.

Euroradio: I understand that the registration of the company in Ukraine is necessary to safely deliver the goods across the Belarus-Ukrain border?

Rahachou: Why? The Russian-Ukrainian one! We do not make a CT-1 for them, and this way it is a little easier with the documents and registration ...

Euroradio: Do you mean the Russian-Ukrainian border, which is not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities?

Rahachou: Yes!

But really, why not cash in on the war? Especially there are people who want to eat and are living under the authority of the separatists. I am calling the "representative of the Brest brewery in Donetsk" Mikalai with a proposal to sell with his help any Belarusian products. In Donetsk my proposal is not met with happy outbursts...

"I do not know... In fact, we already have arrangements with manufacturers of dairy milk, cheese... Make your offer, maybe, you have something more interesting for us," slowly responds the man.

Euroradio: Are you interested in our smoked sausage, cereal or canned meat?

Mikalai: canned meat... we have not yet considered this option. Make an offer, maybe it will sell. Sausages ... I understand that the quality of the Belarusian sausage is good, but they are a little expensive for us. But do offer them - maybe we'll find it interesting.

Euroradio: I think we should at once consider both the supply and logistics: is it better to do via Ukraine or Russia?

Mikalai: No, we bring it through Russia - we do not do anything through Ukraine. Uspenka is our main border point...

Of course, there is no ban on the supply of Belarusian products to Donetsk or Luhansk - neither from Kyiv nor from Minsk. And "economic entities" have the right to enter into supply contracts with anyone. If the field of business does not get intervention from big politics. And it is still silent. Maybe it does not know?