Head of Donetsk Regional Military-Civilian Administration Pavlo Zhebrivsky during the visit of Ukrainian German and French foreign ministers to Kramatorsk and Slovyansk said that elections cannot be held until the border (with Russia) is closed and Russian military forces leave Ukraine. He said "special status" can only be in the form of decentralization and the creation of united communities (hromadas).
“‘Special status’ for Donbas can only be in the form of decentralization and the formation of united self-governing communities. And they must be created throughout Ukraine, so all these communities in the country have the same status. We are working on this actively,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
The Donetsk governor said holding elections without closing the border with Russia, jointly with the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) mission or with a peacekeeping United Nations contingent, is impossible.
“Without the withdrawal of Russian forces, without disarmament and stationing Ukrainian police patrols with OSCE representatives to keep order, without restoring law and order … holding elections is unacceptable. We cannot permit the legitimization of Russian mercenaries on this territory,” Zhebrivsky said.
The Donetsk governor said that more than 60 percent of residents in Donbas want to live in Ukraine or, “as grandmothers here say,” to live as they did before the Russian invasion.
“Our position is unequivocal and clear. Donetsk region must be completely Ukrainian. There can be no ‘sanitary corridors.’ We require the assistance of our partners, but even if it is not forthcoming, we will continue to insist Ukraine remain a unitary state,” he said.
The Donetsk governor also said the best result of the visit of the German and French foreign ministers to Donbas would be to pressure the Russian side to restore gas supplies to Maryinka and Krasnohorivka, and electricity supplies to Zhovanka and many other destroyed sites, which people living near the line of demarcation depend upon.
