A truce and concessions

What is happening in the Donbass while Russia is fighting in Syria. Short

The DPR and LPR posted until next year the elections originally appointed at the end of October - early November. Such a decision was made against the backdrop of a lull in the conflict zone, where shelling completely stopped. "Medusa" says what is happening in the Donbass, when all the attention of the Russians switched to the war in Syria.

The battles in eastern Ukraine ceased. The Ukrainian military and separatists have not been leading active hostilities in the Donbass since the beginning of June, when clashes between the city of Maryinka in the Donetsk region occurred . In the summer, the parties to the conflict constantly accused each other of violating the ceasefire, daily reporting dozens of shelling. By autumn, the shelling almost completely stopped. In fact, the a truce was reinforced by the Treaty on the withdrawal of weapons of a caliber of less than 100 millimeters - it was concluded on September 29 at a meeting of the contact group to resolve the conflict in the Donbass. In accordance with this agreement, a 30-kilometer buffer zone is created along the line of contact of the parties to the conflict. “In fact, in my opinion, this may mean the end of the war,” said DPR representative Denis Pushilin after signing this agreement. As for heavy weapons of caliber more than 100 millimeters, their withdrawal from the line of contact is provided by the Minsk agreements concluded back in February 2015.

In Ukraine, the reform of the Constitution began. At a meeting on August 31, the Verkhovna Rada approved in the first reading a draft constitutional reform , which provides for the decentralization of power in the country. According to this document, local authorities will receive expanded powers. In the transition provisions of the Constitution, a clause appeared that in some areas of Donetsk and Lugansk regions a special procedure for self -government is introduced - it is established by a separate law. Such a wording allows the President and the Ukrainian government to say that the Constitution does not consolidate any special status of Donbass.

The DPR and LPR did not categorically arrange a constitutional reform project. The separatists accused Kyiv of violating the Minsk agreements, which provide for the decentralization of power in Ukraine "taking into account the features of individual regions of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, agreed with representatives of these areas." Nobody coordinated by the Verkhovna Rada with the Verkhovna Rada. Ukraine insists that there are no legal authorities in the Donbass - therefore, there is no one to negotiate with.

Elections in the DPR and LPR are postponed. The separatists were going to hold elections to local authorities on October 18 and November 1. Ukraine demanded their cancellation, since they were not appointed in accordance with Ukrainian law. The final decision was made after negotiations in Paris by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France. On October 6, representatives of the separatists stated that the vote will be postponed to February next year. At the same time, they demanded that Ukraine provide the Donbass with a special status, agree with them amendments to the Constitution and amnesty the participants in the fighting.

Petro Poroshenko said that the decision to transfer the vote “opens the way to the return of Ukraine to the Donbass through the elections according to Ukrainian law, based on the OSCE standards and without the occupation forces.” Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov called the decision made by the “example of a flexible and constructive approach” to the implementation of the Minsk agreements. The European Union in its statement expressed hope for "a sustainable political settlement of the conflict based on compliance with international law and principles of independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine."