A call to lay down arms

A rundown of what's happening in eastern Ukraine, while everyone's focused on Syria

Separatists in eastern Ukraine have postponed their elections until next year, which until recently were scheduled to take place in late October and early November. The decision comes as the conflict cools dramatically, with regular attacks having ceased completely. Meduza looks at what is happening in the Donbass today, as the world's attention suddenly turns to Syria.

The fighting in eastern Ukraine has stopped. Active hostilities between Ukrainian soldiers and separatists ended in June, after clashes in the town of Marinka, near Donetsk. Throughout the summer, both Kiev and the rebels accused each other of violating a ceasefire agreement more than a dozen times a day. By the autumn, these attacks had ended almost completely. This de facto ceasefire was reinforced by an agreement concluded on September 29, withdrawing (from the front line) weapons below a 100-millimeter caliber. (Larger weapons are already supposed to be withdrawn from this area, in accordance with the February 2015 Minsk accords.)

The agreement established a 30-kilometer (18.5-mile) buffer zone between Ukrainian troops and separatist forces. "In essence, I believe, this can be considered the end of the war," Donetsk People's Republic spokesperson Denis Pushilin said after the agreement was signed.

Ukraine has initiated constitutional reforms. On August 31, the Ukrainian parliament approved draft legislation that would decentralize some state authority in the country, expanding local governments' powers. While separatists in Donetsk and Lugansk say they want the special conditions establishing their self-government in these constitutional reforms, Ukrainian lawmakers have addressed this issue in a separate piece of legislation, allowing officials in Kiev to insist that the constitutional amendments do not cement any kind of special status for Donetsk or Lugansk.

The Ukrainian parliament's constitutional reforms have not even remotely satisfied the separatists, who say Kiev is violating the Minsk agreement, which calls for a decentralization of power in Ukraine that "takes into account the special aspects of the Donetsk and Lugansk oblasts, and coordinates with the representatives of these regions." Separatists in Donetsk or Lugansk, however, did not agree to the new constitutional amendments. Officials in Kiev insist there are no legitimate authorities in rebel-controlled Ukraine, and so there is no one to invite to the negotiating table.

Elections in Donetsk and Lugansk have been postponed. The separatists previously planned to hold elections from October 18 until November 1. The Ukrainian government strongly opposed this move, insofar as it would violate Ukrainian law. A final agreement on this issue was reached after the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany met in Paris on October 2. Four days later, rebel officials announced that elections would be postponed until February 2016. In exchange, the separatists are demanding special status for Donetsk and Lugansk, a role in the drafting of Ukraine's constitutional reforms, and amnesty for anyone who fought against Ukrainian troops.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said the separatists' decision to postpone voting "opens the way for the return of the Donbass to Ukraine by way of elections held under Ukrainian law, on the basis of OSCE standards and without occupation forces." Vladimir Putin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, called the agreement "an example of a flexible and constructive approach" to implementing the Minsk accord. A spokesperson for the European Union expressed hope for a "sustainable political settlement to the conflict based on respect for international law and the principles of independence, sovereignty, and the territorial integrity of Ukraine."