Moscow tightens economic grip on southern Ukraine

Andrusenko and his 50 or so employees continue showing up to work every morning at the gray building on the outskirts of the port city

Little appears to have changed for Alexei Andrusenko, the head of a foundry in Ukraine's southern city of Berdyansk, who is happy to have kept all his staff since Moscow took control of the city, Qazet.az reports.

Andrusenko and his 50 or so employees continue showing up to work every morning at the gray building on the outskirts of the port city on the shores of the Sea of Azov.

But now the factory's produce – once sold to Ukrainian or international steel groups – will likely be bound for Russia and Kremlin ally Belarus.

Since Russia sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 and captured territories in the south of the pro-Western country, Moscow has sought to strengthen their economic ties.

"We have no other supply chain," Andrusenko told Agence France-Presse (AFP) during a press trip organized by the Russian army.

He also raised concerns about the depleting stocks of their raw materials that previously came from neighboring Mariupol, another key Ukrainian city captured by Russia on the shores of the Sea of Azov.

Andrusenko said they are "interested" in working with the Alchevsk steelworks, a large factory with over 10,000 employees that since 2014 has been under the control of pro-Russian separatists of eastern Ukraine's Luhansk region.

Before Russia sent troops to Ukraine, these deals would never have been possible.

"The most important thing is to build the right supply chain and to be able to work," Andrusenko said.