As Western powers increase sanctions against eastern Ukraine, separatist leaders are revitalizing expropriated steel factories now controlled by ZAO Vneshtorgservis, a south Ossetia-based company supporting rebel governments in Donbass.

Once an industrial powerhouse, eastern Ukraine’s economy has been heavily damaged by the conflict that erupted in 2014. In response to Ukraine’s transportation blockade of the rebel-held areas, the self-declared Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics announced in March 2017 the seizure of dozens of Ukrainian-administered enterprises, including steel factories that are now coming back online.