You're reading: ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ leadership declares independence, seeks accession to Russia

Leadership of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" has declared independence of the region and seeks accession to Russia.

“Upon the results of the referendum held on May 11, 2014 and based on
the sovereignty declaration of the Donetsk People’s Republic, we,
people of the Donetsk People’s Republic, declare that from now on the
Donetsk People’s Republic is a sovereign state,” co-chairman of the
“Donetsk People’s Republic” government Denis Pushilin said at a news
conference on Monday.

“We ask to consider the issue of accession of the Donetsk People’s Republic to Russia,” Pushilin said.

According to Pushilin, the supreme council formed by the “Donetsk
People’s Republic” government and security council will become the
higher state body of the “Donetsk People’s Republic.”

“Donetsk region has always been part of the Russian world regardless of ethnic affiliation,” Pushylin said.

“For us Russia’s history is our history. Russian and Soviet
victories, including in the Great patriotic Warm are our common
victories,” he said.

“The Donetsk region was part of the Russian empire initially,”
Pushylin said. “Only after the bloody catastrophe of 1917 it turned out
to be separated by conventional administrative borders from big Russia,”
he said.

“We lived most part of the 20th century as part of Ukraine but this
was possible only due to the fact that Ukraine itself was territorial
formation of the single state,” Pushylin said.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, “our people still
hoped that Ukraine, Russia and Belarus will restore their historical
unity,” Pushylin said. “This hope crashed completely in March 2014, when
the Kyiv junta professing neo-Nazi fascist ideology seized power in
Ukraine during the revolt,” he said.