KIEV, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine's industrial output was down 1.3 percent year-on-year in January-May 2017 mainly due to the blockade in the eastern mining region of Donbas, official data showed on Tuesday.
In the first five months of 2017, industrial production in the Lugansk region dipped 28 percent, while in the Donetsk region the output was down 13 percent from a year earlier, the State Statistics Service said in a report.
Overall, Ukraine's mining sector showed a 7.4-percent decline in January-May compared with the same period a year ago, while the industries of electricity, gas and water production and distribution decreased by 5 percent, the report said.
The drop was partially offset by a stronger output in the processing industry, which rose by 2.6 percent in the first five months, it said.
Since late January, the trade in raw materials and other goods between the areas in eastern Ukraine controlled by the government and by the pro-independence insurgents has been blocked.
In the wake of the blockade, insurgents in March took over Kiev-controlled enterprises operating in rebel-held areas.
Ukraine's industrial production recovered from a four-year-long crisis in 2016, growing by 2.4 percent.
