Alexander
Zakharchenko said that Kiev might set out on an offensive to disrupt local
elections in the Donetsk People's Republic in October.
DONETSK
(Sputnik) — The leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s
Republic (DPR) confirmed on Saturday the east Ukrainian breakaway region
would go ahead with local elections in October, and warned that Kiev
might launch a military offensive to disrupt the vote.
"I’d say that local elections in the DPR are a
threat to [Ukrainian President Petro] Poroshenko’s regime," DPR’s
Alexander Zakharchenko told RIA Novosti. "As for attempts
to disrupt the elections, the only way for the junta to do that
is through military force."
Mayoral and district governor elections in the DPR
are scheduled for October 18. The vote will be held a week before the
nationwide Ukrainian elections on October 25.
Zakharchenko said the Donetsk republic would not take
part in those because Kiev had been reluctant to discuss the terms
of the vote with the DPR as required by the multilateral
ceasefire agreement of February 2015.
The DPR leader accused Ukrainian lawmakers
of passing a local elections law without discussing it with the
Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which were to be granted a special status.
Under the Minsk ceasefire deal, agreed on by the
leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany in mid-February,
Ukrainian authorities were to adopt electoral and constitutional reforms
aimed at devolving power to regions, including in Donbass,
before the end of 2015.
Source: Sputnik News 29-08-2015
