On April 14, 2025, the host of "Clear Politics" on Belarus 1, Sergey Gusachenko, stated that the market and oligarchs have turned Ukrainian industry into ruins and added that Belarusian enterprises have managed to avoid this fate.
"Over the years of independence, entire sectors have deteriorated in the country. Industrial flagships, once renowned throughout the Union, now lie silent under the burden of decay," said the host. These words were followed with footage of the supposed deserted factories, including their names and the alleged closure dates. A total of 18 enterprises.
The WTF team checked and found that at least five of them are still operational. For example, the Dnipro Metallurgical Plant. The "Clear Politics" program showed that it had been closed since 2008, but at the time the program aired, the factory was actually operating. In 2022, the enterprise merged with the Dnipro Coke Plant and became part of the international mining and metallurgical group of companies Metinvest, receiving the new name Kamet-Steel. The company reported increased production of steel and iron ore concentrate for the year 2024.
The Kramatorsk Heavy Duty Machine Tool Building Plant has been idle since 2017, according to Belarus 1 TV channel. In reality, while operating at a loss, the plant remains open. After the war began, the plant was evacuated to Zakarpattia where, in addition to its previous specialty of wind power installations, it now produces Bohdana self-propelled howitzers the front. Media reports also indicate the plant developed Germina, a mine-clearing vehicle that successfully completed testing this year.
The Zaporizhzhia Transformer Plant, considered Europe's largest manufacturer of power oil transformers, was also listed among closed facilities. In the 1990s, it was privatized and reorganized into Zaporizhtransformator JSC. The plant was controlled by Russian-Ukrainian businessman Konstantin Grigorishin. Contrary to Belarus 1's reporting, the plant did not cease operations in 2015. The company filed for bankruptcy, but after the war broke out, the government took control of it to support defense efforts. Media reports from two years ago indicated that it was producing transformers for Ukraine's power grid.
The Kirovograd Agricultural Machinery Plant "Red Star"—a major farm equipment manufacturer dating back to the Russian Empire and Soviet times—
remains operational, contrary to Belarus 1's claim of its closure in 2009. We found the plant's financial statements that confirm it is still in operation. In 2016, it was renamed Elworthy—in honor of its English founders, Robert and Thomas Elworthy. The company received the national Choice of the Country award in 2021.
The Kremenchuk Steel Works also remain operational. While it suspended operations in 2011, 2014 and 2020, it resumed work each time. Recent financial statements show the plant continues to operate. The company has been turning a profit in recent years.
