Recent “revelations of Ukrainian politicians” regarding intentions to liquidate the administrative bodies of the self-proclaimed republics clearly demonstrate that Kiev “does not even mask its aggressive intentions” in relation to the Donbass, the head of the Donetsk People’s Republic Denis Pushilin said in an interview with RT.

“If we consider such statements in conjunction with military escalation on the contact line, with complete reluctance to agree on the Minsk platform, the conclusion becomes obvious: Kiev is already implementing plans that are fundamentally different from the package of measures (to implement the Minsk agreements. - RT ),” - said Pushilin.

According to him, the recent actions of the Ukrainian side, in particular, the refusal to consolidate the special status of Donbass in the Ukrainian constitution, indicate that the Ukrainian authorities do not intend to implement the Minsk agreements.

“The number of dead and injured from Ukrainian shells in recent years leaves no doubt about Kiev’s course on a military solution to the conflict. That is why we now have the People’s Police put on full alert - we are ready to give an adequate response to any actions of the Ukrainian armed forces, ”the head of the DPR emphasized.

On the eve of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba on the air of ATR television channel said that after establishing control in the Donbass, Kiev intends to liquidate the administration of the self-proclaimed republics.

“Yes, we will not conduct conversations with them (LPR and DPR. - RT ). Accordingly, they have no prospects in the current system, or rather, not in the current, but in the settlement system, in the future of Donbass. If there is security, if there will be a withdrawal of troops, if control over the border is resumed, then, in fact, where is the place of the occupation administration? The answer is nowhere, ”said Kuleba.

Ukraine announced its intention to liquidate the LPR and DPR administrations in mid-October 2019. Then, according to the results of the work of the Trilateral Contact Group (TAG) in Minsk, the Ukrainian side demanded that the execution of the political block of the Minsk Agreements on its part would be possible only with the dissolution of the administrative bodies of the DPR and LPR. The press secretary of the representative of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma Darka Olifer wrote about this on her Facebook page.

In addition to the topic of abolishing the leadership of the self-proclaimed republics, Kuleba also raised the issue of the so-called plan B for the return of Donbass. However, without going into the details of this plan, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister said that Kiev would not want to follow this path.

“I hope that we will not have to use plan B, we will still achieve progress under plan A,” the Ukrainian minister said.

Recall that in December 2019, the assistant to the Ukrainian leader Andrei Yermak said that Plan B to resolve the conflict in the Donbass includes the construction of a wall on the border with the south-east of the country. Later information on the existence of such a scheme was confirmed by Zelensky himself, calling it an extreme and undesirable scenario.

  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
  • Reuters
  • © Valentyn Ogirenko

According to Denis Denisov, director of the Institute for Peace Initiatives and Conflictology, in an interview with RT, Ukraine’s statements about the liquidation of the LPR and DPR administrations "have nothing to do with reality." Kiev does not want to fully implement the Minsk agreements, but now it is dreaming of a change of leadership in the republics, the analyst believes.

“Such irresponsible and meaningless statements by the Ukrainian authorities indicate that they are in parallel reality, since now the Kiev authorities certainly cannot influence the existence of governing bodies in the republics. However, in the future this is extremely unlikely, since Kiev does not follow the accepted agreements. And all the speculations on this matter are Kiev’s next propaganda efforts, ”the expert said in a conversation with RT.

Aggravation of the conflict

Moreover, according to analysts, recently the aggression of Ukraine against the self-proclaimed republics has only intensified. In general, during the year of the presidency of Vladimir Zelensky, the number of victims and the number of destruction in the Donbass due to the actions of Kiev almost doubled compared to the same data for the last 12 months of Petro Poroshenko’s reign. This was announced during a briefing on May 20 by the head of the representative office of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in the Joint Center for the Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire in the Donbass Ruslan Yakubov.

According to him, under Zelensky 973 households were damaged, another 49 were completely destroyed. 180 infrastructure facilities were seriously damaged. As a result of the shelling, six civilians were killed, 72 people were injured. 

“The armed aggression of Kiev continues to bring immeasurable suffering to the civilian population,” Yakubov emphasized.

Experts also pay attention to tightening the rhetoric of the Ukrainian authorities. In particular, in early May, the head of the office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak stated that Kiev “will never negotiate” directly with the LPR and the DPR on a settlement in the Donbass. He said this during the online discussion “Pandemic, Reform, War and Peace: A View from the Ukrainian White House”, organized by the Atlantic Council American think tank.

In turn, Denis Pushilin is sure that Kiev will nevertheless “have to negotiate” with the DPR and LPR regardless of its desire.

“World practice consists in the fact that in order to resolve civil conflicts it is necessary to communicate directly with its parties. The second side of the conflict is the republics of Donbass, ”the head of the DPR emphasized in an interview with RT.

  • The consequences of the shelling in Donetsk
  • Reuters
  • © Alexander Ermochenko

According to Pushilin, with such statements Kiev is trying to divert attention from Ukraine’s failure to fulfill its obligations.

Recall that in the Minsk agreements it is indicated that the Ukrainian authorities should adopt a law on the special status of Donbass. In addition, according to Steinmeier’s formula, which was also approved by the Ukrainian side, Kiev should temporarily introduce the special status of this region on the day when snap elections under Ukrainian law are held there. If the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) recognizes the results of voting, then special status will be introduced on an ongoing basis.

“Maintaining the degree of counteraction”

According to the expert of the Institute of the CIS countries Igor Shishkin, the new statement by Kiev on the liquidation of the DPR and LPR administrations is an indication that the current government in the person of Zelensky and his associates continues the course of the past president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko.

“After the punitive operations of Poroshenko, who tried to destroy the authorities of the republics, Kiev switched to the actual blockade of the LPR and the DPR. Now, the course towards the destruction of the republics is continuing steadily, ”the expert noted in a conversation with RT.

The representative of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic in the political subgroup Rodion Miroshnik said, in turn, that Kuleba’s statement “is aimed at inciting hatred, maintaining a degree of opposition on the contact line and generally continuing the war.”

“The elites of Ukraine are used to living in a paradigm of hostilities. Zelensky promised peace in the territory of Donbass, and now he says through Kuleba that there will be no peace, ”Miroshnik said in an interview with RT.

However, if Kiev is trying to intimidate local residents in the Donbass, declaring its intentions to liquidate the DPR and LPR administrations, nothing will come of it, the LPR representative is sure.

“It’s just naive to think like that. Such attacks of Kiev have not affected the opinion of the DPR and LPR people for a long time, ”Miroshnik emphasized.

The formation of the administrations of the self-proclaimed republics at one time “was a response to the aggression of Kiev,” recalled a member of the DPR government, Miroslav Rudenko.

“The statehood of the DPR and LPR arose as a consequence of the criminal actions of Kiev in relation to civilians in the Donbass. Otherwise, people in these territories could not survive. Moreover, in the Minsk agreements there is a clause on the special status of Donbass. And it is clear that a region of this kind will have its own authorities, ”the deputy said in an interview with RT.

Rudenko also added that the self-proclaimed republics, which "have won subjectivity in the struggle for their existence, will not give up their rights."

According to Denis Denisov, instead of making statements on the liquidation of the LPR and DPR administrations, Kiev should concentrate on the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

“Ukraine needs to implement priority steps to implement these agreements, in particular, in the field of security and political reforms. And only after that it would be possible to try to open a discussion on the topic, I emphasize, not abolition, but only adjusting the format of the administrations of the self-proclaimed republics, ”the analyst said.

However, based on the fact that Kiev is sabotaging the implementation of the Minsk agreements, categorically refusing to implement a number of agreements, even hoping that the Ukrainian authorities would “be extremely naive,” Denisov emphasizes.

“This way is unpromising. Such rhetoric of Kiev and its approach to resolving the situation in the Donbass negatively affects the negotiation process, complicates the dialogue and, as a result of this, the adoption of certain decisions that would bring the parties closer to peace in the Donbass, ”the expert concluded.