ANALYSIS OF THE STATE OF THE LEADING SECTORS OF THE ECONOMY IN DONBAS FOR THE OLD INDUSTRIAL REGION – SUMMER-AUTUMN OF 2014

The purpose of the article is to study the state of the regional industrial complex of the old industrial region of the East of Ukraine, which suffered as a result of the military-political conflict that began in 2014. One of the objectives of the study is to analyse the process of destroying the foundations of the regional economy, as well as to assess the significance of the loss of Donbas industries for the stable socio-economic development of all regions of Ukraine. Methodology. The method of analysis made it possible to study the process of destruction of industrial enterprises in the basic sectors of the regional economy of Donbas since the beginning of the military-political conflict. The author defined the schemes of the operation of a part of enterprises operating in the temporarily occupied territory of the East of Ukraine, who, becoming hostages to the situation, were forced to cooperate with representatives of the illegal authorities of the unrecognized republics to preserve production. Result. The statistical method is used to analyse the financial and economic performance of industrial enterprises, with the purpose of assessing their role in the state economy of the country as a whole. The method of system analysis allowed the author to estimate the damage caused by the loss in the state economy of coal supplies, which was previously mined in the mines of Donbas. Thus, the fact of a decrease in industrial production in the east of the country was argued, which led to a significant drop in Ukraine’s exports in general in such areas as supplies of ferrous metals, engineering products, and non-ferrous metallurgy. Practical implication. The author analysed the facts of loss, as a result of dismantling and export of equipment, strategically important enterprises of the militaryindustrial complex of the country. The article reflects the problem of the growing ecological danger that has arisen as a result of the lack of control over the closed enterprises of the coal mining industry and the chemical industry. In addition, in the course of active hostilities, a number of industrial objects suffered significant damage, which leads to uncontrolled emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere. The shutdown of mines and concentrators created yet another problem – the discharge of mine waters, their access to the surface, the flooding of significant areas and the entry of toxic waters into rivers that serve as a source of drinking water for residents, both the conflict region and the country as a whole, and neighbouring states. Also, the technogenic threat is represented by the methane gas output to the surface displaced by groundwater. Value/originality. The results of the research made it possible to depict the dynamics of the destruction of the economic complex of the old industrial region as a result of military operations in the territory of the state and illegal export of equipment of enterprises. All these actions led to the launch of negative processes in the Ukrainian economy, provoking a deep social and economic crisis, which accelerated the destruction of the metallurgical, coal and chemical industries in the region. Thus, today it is necessary to conduct an inventory of surviving and continuing enterprises, to quickly identify the risk zone, and develop strategies for minimizing and overcoming them in key sectors of the economy