Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman on February 20 at a meeting with representatives of the so-called trade blockade in Donbas pointed out the risks for Ukrainians over the blockade and assured that the government is ready to strengthen control.

"The prime minister supports strengthening control over smuggled goods on the territories near the ATO zone and strengthening control over the goods crossing the contact line between the territories under control of the Ukrainian government and areas that are not under its control. He said that the government is ready to make the decisions in the competence of the Cabinet of Ministers," Prime Minister Spokesman Dmytro Stoliarchuk wrote on his Facebook page after the meeting.

Groysman said that first ordinary Ukrainians would suffer from the blockade, as there are risks of breaks in heat and electricity supplies and risks of losing jobs.

He said that the situation in the energy sector and the strategy of becoming energy independent by Ukraine should be widely discussed at the political level, as they require steps both from executive and legislative powers.

Earlier the blockade representatives said that Groysman at the meeting proposed to approve a resolution that would regulate the movement of goods across the contact line in line with the terrorism fighting law.