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Ukraine killed Donbass residents because they refused to support neo-Nazi regime — Lavrov

It is emphasized that the Kiev regime has deprived the residents of Donbass of basic civil rights

MOSCOW, October 3. /TASS/. The Ukrainian armed forces have been killing residents of Donbass with impunity, only because they refused to support the Kiev neo-Nazi regime and decided to stand up for their constitutional rights, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday at a plenary session of the State Duma.

"The Ukrainian armed forces and militants of nationalist factions have been killing residents of Donbass and neighboring areas without punishment only because they refused to share the neo-Nazi aspirations of the country's new leadership and decided to stand up for their rights guaranteed by the Ukrainian constitution," he said. Among them, Lavrov stressed, is the right to the free use of their native Russian language.

"For long eight years Kiev has purposefully destroyed the civil infrastructure of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, imposed a financial, transport and energy blockade against Donbass, and cut off residents of these territories from social benefits, pensions, salaries, banking services, communications, education and healthcare," the minister said. Lavrov also emphasized that the Kiev regime has deprived the residents of Donbass of basic civil rights. Under these conditions, he continued, independent republics were formed in Donbass in the spring of 2014 in order to preserve their own civilizational identity and life, but in view of Kiev's refusal to recognize their special status under the Minsk agreements, Russia had no choice but to recognize their independence.

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Foreign policy Sergey Lavrov

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