Russia rejects new Donetsk rebel ‘state’

Russia says the declaration of a state called “Malorossiya” (Little Russia) in rebel-held eastern Ukraine is just a rebel leader’s “personal initiative”. Alexander Zakharchenko announced the new “state” in Donetsk, saying it would replace Ukraine. Th e pro-Russian rebels broke away from Ukraine in 2014. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “we remain committed to the Minsk accords”.

Th e Minsk ceasefi re is shaky as shelling and skirmishes continue. More shelling took place on Tuesday. Th e Ukrainian military reported heavy rebel fi re on its positions in the Avdiivka area, a hotspot just north of rebel-held Donetsk. It said two Ukrainian soldiers had been killed on Tuesday. Th e self-styled “Donetsk People’s Republic” (DNR) said one civilian had been killed and two had been wounded in Ukrainian army shelling of some residential areas of Donetsk. Nearly 10,000 people have died since the eastern Ukraine confl ict erupted in April 2014, soon after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula. A ceasefi re was agreed in February 2015 but its terms are far from being fulfi lled. Western governments accuse Russia of helping the rebels with regular troops and heavy weapons. Moscow denies that, while admitting that Russian “volunteers” are helping the rebels.

Politicians outside Donetsk have distanced themselves from Mr Zakharchenko’s “Malorossiya” declaration. Mr Peskov said it was Mr Zakharchenko’s “personal initiative” and Moscow had “learnt about it this morning [Tuesday] from media”. Pro-Russian rebels in the neighbouring breakaway Luhansk region also dismissed the “Malorossiya” declaration, despite being allies of the DNR rebels. A pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, fl ed The confl ict in Yemen has displaced more than three million people since 2015 AFP Image Ukraine’s capital Kiev during violent protests in February 2014 but ties to Moscow remain strong in the Russian-speaking east. “Malorossiya” in tsarist times referred to Russian imperial territories that later became part of Ukraine. Many Ukrainians today regard the name as off ensive and synonymous with Russian imperialism.

A “Malorossiya constitution” published on the DNR offi cial website says the new “state” is a successor to Ukraine, with Donetsk as its capital. It proclaims as its fl ag the emblem of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, a 17th-Century Cossack who led a revolt against Polish rule and forged an alliance with Russia. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko saw the declaration as further evidence of Russian involvement. “Since the start of military aggression against my nation Russia’s goal has been to fragment Ukraine,” he said. “Th e Novorossiya project included nine regions of Ukraine. Th is project collapsed utterly.” He called the Zakharchenko leadership “a puppet show, parroting messages received from Russia”. Th e “Malorossiya” declaration was ignored in Russia’s main evening TV news bulletins – after Mr Peskov’s comments about it. Th e main channels are statecontrolled

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