The state-owned enterprise Artemsol (Soledar, Donetsk Region), Europe’s largest salt producer, has halted its work for an indefinite period due to military operations by Russian troops, Acting Director Viktor Yurin said in a commentary to Vile Radio.

“The enterprise is not working, idle, according to the order, until indefinitely. The shelling is constant, the administrative building is partially destroyed. There were direct hits in the mines, the material warehouse. The production process is impossible. We will not expose people to danger. Moreover, most residents of Soledar and workers of “Artemsol” have already been evacuated”, – said the head of the enterprise.

According to him, “Artemsol” stopped working in April because of the railroad shutdown in the region, and all the stocks available for removal were sent to retail chains back in April.

“Our hub station of Sol, where we were pulling up cars from our sidings, is regularly bombarded. “Artemsol is mainly focused on shipping products by rail. We can take out by automobile transport only a small part of it … And if the railroad is not working, we actually can not, too”, – explained Jurin.

The director specified that the company staff was not harmed by the hostilities, but some employees were wounded as a result of the shelling of their homes.

According to Yurin, Ukraine will have to import more salt from abroad because of the shutdown of the enterprise until the end of hostilities in the region.