Zelensky Revealed Plan to Return Donbass

Ukraine plans to "return" the Donbass after the "troops leave" from there. This opinion was expressed by President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky in the program "Freedom of Speech with Savik Shuster." "The most important thing is that the troops will leave and we will go in. If we go in, we will immediately bring our people back to life. Then the border, then the elections," the head of state said. At the same time, Zelensky added that the elections in the Donbass will be held only after Kiev gains control over the border with Russia. Thus, he ignored the conflict resolution procedure as stipulated in the Minsk agreements: first, the holding of elections, then granting Donbass a special status and only then transferring control over the border with Russia. In April 2014, the Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation against the self-proclaimed LPR and DPR, which declared independence after the coup in Ukraine in February 2014. According to the latest UN data, about 13 thousand people became victims of the conflict. The issue of resolving the situation in the Donbass is discussed, in particular, during meetings of the Minsk contact group, which since September 2014 has already adopted three documents regulating steps to de-escalate the conflict. However, even after armistice agreements, firefights between the parties to the conflict continue. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is absolutely not involved in the events in the south-east of Ukraine, does not supply militias with military equipment and ammunition, is not a party to the intra-Ukrainian conflict and is interested in Ukraine's overcoming the political and economic crisis. Moscow calls on Kiev to establish a direct dialogue with the proclaimed republics of Donbass.