KIEV, February 05. /ITAR-TASS/. Life is returning back to normal in the western and central regions of Ukraine where fairly recently mobs of ultra-right nationalistic ‘protesters’ seized administrative buildings and passed ‘resolutions’ unseating the regional governors and heads of executive agencies.
Wednesday, regional administrations were engaged in their routine business almost everywhere, providing social benefits and drafting budgets. On the face of it, the protesters had abandoned the streets practically in all the provincial cities and towns.
In spite of a recent siege by the protesters, the state administration in the northwest Volyn region is working normally and drafting a regional budget for 2014, the chief of the regional press service, Galina Denisyuk told Itar-Tass by telephone.
“All the state organizations are working as usual here,” she said. “There are no delays in the payments of wages and all the social security programs are fulfilled as scheduled. The barricades are gone and the employees /of state organizations/ have free access to their workplaces.”
“Our treasury has effectuated the full amount of payments it was expected to, student grants, wages, purchases of medicines and food, public utility fees, and energy bills,” she said.
The budget the administration is drafting will make emphasis on extra subsidies to agriculture.
“Assistance to 30,000 families in Volyn and the guarantees of the region’s foodstuff security will depend on when the regional budget is endorsed,” Denisyuk said.
Ivano-Frankovsk region authorities are operating as usual, dealing with the problems of local population, Sergei Bily, the chief of the regional press service told Itar-Tass.
“I wouldn’t say we’ve run into irresolvable problems of some kind because the regional government and all of its organizations are working as always and responding to all the requests from the population,” he said, adding that local residents had already received all the social benefits that were due to be paid out in January.
The regional administration in Cherkassy region, Centran Ukraine, has recovered ability to function after the attacks of radicals in late January and is now operating as usual, regional spokeswoman Anna Turskaya said.
“We’ve endorsed the regional budget aimed at keeping up the social policies,” she said. “The opposition refused to take part in its formation and endorsement and our main objective now is to prepare for the 200th anniversary since the birth of our great poet Taras Shevchenko,” she said.
She indicated that the administration had not yet repaired its headquarters.
“We haven’t received the necessary funds so far and that’s why we’re doing everything with our own hands,” Turskaya said.
“The mob that broke into the building smashed the office machinery and furniture,” she said, “They used the furniture to burn it in campfires. It’s really sad because we were keeping key-turn projects there, and I don’t think they would have done it if they really wanted to do something good.”
“Residents of other parts of the country came to Cherkassy to take part in attacks on the regional administration,” Turskaya said. “We’ve received a confirmation from the police that told us the attackers’ identities had been established.”