All news

Poroshenko’s statements about "pseudo-ceasefire" in Donbas raise concerns — DPR envoy

Denis Pushilin also called unacceptable Poroshenko’s statement about intention to regain control over the Donetsk airport and fight for restoring Ukraine "to the bitter end"
Destroyed terminal building of the International Airport in Donetsk EPA/ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO
Destroyed terminal building of the International Airport in Donetsk
© EPA/ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO

MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s statement about "pseudo-ceasefire" in Donbas raises concerns, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) envoy to the Contact Group Denis Pushilin said on Thursday.

"Poroshenko’s statements about ‘pseudo-ceasefire’ raise concerns, such statements are unacceptable and do not lead to peace," Pushilin told Russian Federation Council’s Committee of public support to residents of south-eastern Ukraine.

Pushilin also called unacceptable Poroshenko’s statement about intention to regain control over the Donetsk airport and fight for restoring Ukraine "to the bitter end."

"This also concerns constitutional commission. It already adopted 19 amendments with coordinating them with us, though it is directly envisaged by the Minsk agreements," the envoy noted.

Kiev plans to recapture Donetsk airport

Kiev’s plans to recapture Donetsk airport from self-defense forces contradict the Minsk agreements, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on May 12. "It is, of course," Peskov said, answering a question on whether Kiev’s attempts to regain control over the Donetsk airport violate the Minsk accords. "We repeatedly stated that the Ukrainian side does not fulfill the points of the Minsk agreements," the spokesman noted.

On Monday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that the Donetsk airport, controlled by the self-defense of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), will be recaptured. "I do not doubt that we will free the airport because it is our land. And we will restore the airport," Poroshenko said.

Kiev forces controlled Donetsk airport terminals for several months, shelling the city’s suburbs from their positions. In January, DPR authorities said that the self-defense forces regained full control over the airport. Ukrainian forces made several attempts to recapture their positions. DPR defense ministry said around 600 Ukrainian military were killed or injured during the armed stand-off around the airport.

Minsk agreements on Ukrainian settlement

Ceasefire is one of the key point of the Minsk agreements on the Ukrainian settlement. Other points include heavy weaponry withdrawal, prisoner exchange, local elections in Donbas and constitutional reform in Ukraine.

The Minsk accords were signed on February 12, after negotiations in the so-called Normandy format in the Belarusian capital Minsk, bringing together Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko. The talks lasted for around 14 hours. Simultaneously, a meeting of the Contact Group on Ukrainian settlement was held in Minsk.

The Ukrainian forces and the self-defense forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics have repeatedly accused each other of violating ceasefire and other points of the Minsk agreements.