Production at the factory in Ditsi was delayed for a year and a half as the boundary line between Georgian-controlled territory and the breakaway region of South Ossetia runs through the village.

The Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry, Bagdat Musin called grey mining tax evasion and claimed that grey miners would have their IP addresses blocked and their property confiscated.

The production complex of linear alkylbenzenes with a capacity of up to 100,000 tonnes per year is planned to be built on the basis of the UzGTL plant.

The country reduced oil exports by 12.7 percent year-on-year to 3.5 million tonnes and increased exports of natural gas by 44 percent to 1.613 billion cubic metres.

Putin said the Kremlin’s chief concerns remained unanswered – guarantees from the West that NATO would expand no further and that Ukraine would never be permitted to join.

The rating actions followed the revision of Ukraine's outlook to Stable from Positive earlier this month.