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Developments in eastern Ukraine

Public organizations demand Kiev continue social benefit payments to eastern Ukraine

The public organizations sent addresses to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, deputies of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada and the Ukrainian government

© Mikhail Pochuyev/TASS

DONETSK/LUGANSK, November 12. /TASS/. The public organizations of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republic on Wednesday urged the Ukrainian authorities to revise the decision on giving up social payments to residents living in the region beyond Kiev's control.

They also asked European politicians to influence Ukraine in this aspect, Novorossiya news agency press service said.

The public organizations sent addresses to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, deputies of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (parliament) and the Ukrainian government, the press service said.

Kiev is planning to deprive veterans, pensioners, disabled persons and mothers of benefits provided by Ukrainian legislation. “That is why we, representatives of the Donbass (Donetsk and Luhansk) civil society, address President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine, deputies of the Verkhovna Rada and members of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine not to doom old people and those in need in Donbass to starvation and poverty, particularly ahead of the coming winter,” the address said.

The address was signed by leaders and members of the region’s public organizations, as well as famous journalists.

On November 5, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Kiev had not intended to pay social benefits for people in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Yatsenyuk told a cabinet meeting those territories which he claimed "were controlled by terrorists" needed subsidies worth 19.6 billion hryvnia ($1.51 billion) for the Donetsk region and 14.6 billion hryvnia ($1.12 billion) for the Luhansk region.

Kiev would continue to supply gas and electricity to the regions, but “so long as the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions are controlled by ‘imposters’, the central budget will not send funding there,” Yatsenyuk said.

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