KIEV, June 5 – Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk has accused businessman Dmytro Firtash of the deliberate stoppage of his Rivneazot and Cherkasy Azot plants due to his unwillingness to pay a UAH 6 billion debt for gas to Naftogaz Ukrayiny and has threatened to nationalize these large chemical enterprises.

"These plants were closed due to the simple reason that this organized crime group owes UAH 6 billion to the state. If the companies do not pay for gas to Naftogaz Ukrayiny, these companies will be transferred to state ownership, and the state will give jobs in Rivne and Cherkasy," Yatseniuk said in the parliament during question time on Friday.