Transport employers called on ARMA not to take arrested wagons to UZ: this threatens the security and economy of Ukraine

FRTU called on the authorities to leave the seized Russian wagons in the management of UZ / photo UNIANThe transfer of 18,000 wagons that belonged to the aggressor states of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus to the management of an unknown company threatens the economic and national security of Ukraine, and also carries numerous risks for the railway industry. Therefore, it is worth leaving these wagons in the management of Ukrzaliznytsia, which can effectively use these wagons both for defense orders of the state and to ensure budget revenues. This is stated in the letter of the Federation of Transport Employers of Ukraine (FRTU) to the head of the National Agency for the Identification, Search and Management of Assets Obtained from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA), Olena Duma, and the Minister of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, Oleksiy Kuleba.

“FRTU requests to suspend the competition for the appointment of a manager for wagons belonging to the aggressor states of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, with a total number of 17,799 units transferred to the responsible storage of Ukrzaliznytsia, because the transfer of wagons to third-party managers can cause significant damage to the economy and national security of Ukraine.” – said in the letter.

The FSTU emphasized that since the transfer of wagons, UZ effectively ensures their use: it provides the possibility of uninterrupted transportation for enterprises and closes the shortage of rolling stock caused by the loss of wagons in the occupied territories.

“The state has been receiving income from the use of the specified wagons at market rates for more than two years, indirectly through UZ, and also has an entity that effectively disposes of the property, including – to ensure the state’s needs in defense transportation, financing of the social segment of transportation and stable functioning the transportation market,” the Federation emphasized.

They emphasized that it is extremely important for the Ukrainian economy and national security that the wagons remain at the disposal of UZ, because this will make it possible to ensure the financial stability of UZ. In addition, the wagon fleet of arrested wagons is critically important for fuel transportation (more than 50% of fuel transportation by rail is carried out by these wagons) and materials for Ukraine’s defense needs.

“It is currently impossible to replace these wagons with other rolling stock, and therefore their transfer to the hands of a third-party manager may cause logistical disruptions, which will become a threat to ensuring the defense needs of the country,” – stressed the FSTU.

The Federation also emphasized: there are reasons to believe that third-party managers will not invest resources in the repair and maintenance of these wagons, but will only “run” them until they are completely worn out. In addition, there is a risk of losing these cars altogether.

“Transferring the wagons to third-party managers may create conditions for their return to the former owners – companies from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, which owned these assets before the arrest. There is a high probability that some managers will organize the departure of the wagons from Ukraine under the guise of international transportation, after which they will not return to Ukraine, and will be illegally returned to the previous owners. In return, UZ strictly controls all transactions with the transferred wagons in order to prevent such a development of events.” specified in the letter.

In view of this, FRTU called on the authorities to suspend the competition for the appointment of a manager for the wagons of the aggressor state, as well as to contact the CMU to hand over all 17,799 wagons to the management of UZ without a competitive basis. This will allow maintaining economic stability, support national security and ensure the reliability of logistics chains, which is critically important for Ukraine in the conditions of martial law.