Donetsk votes for a new reality in a country that does not exist - The Guardian
London - Kyiv, November 03 (PolitNavigator, Vasily Ablyazimov) - The Donetsk People's Republic is not a country in the full sense. Not a country at all, according to the concepts of most countries in the world, writes The Guardian. But the vote for prime minister here and in the neighboring Lugansk republic on Sunday was another step towards creating a new reality on the planet and carving out a piece of Ukraine that will no longer be under Kyiv's control.
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In Ilovaisk, which saw terrible fighting with hundreds of Ukrainian forces surrounded, in school No. 13 a huge crowd of people came to vote. According to residents, they are voting for “peacetime.”
Valentina, a 61-year-old resident of Ilovaisk, spent 23 days huddled in a basement with several dozen other city residents. She says she was threatened by Ukrainian volunteer battalions who tried to use her and others as human shields, and that they stole mobile phones and other property.
“We're voting so they never come back here again,” she said. “We have always been Russians, part of Russia, and we don’t need them here.”
Gennady from Ilovaisk told the English publication that he remained in his apartment throughout the fighting in the city because his 90-year-old mother was too ill to move.
“It was like Russian roulette; I looked out the window and the neighboring house was destroyed, but fortunately God was merciful to me,” he said.
In addition to the implementation of revolutionary legality, the main priority for the authorities of the rebellious regions is economic priority, the newspaper writes. Kyiv is unwilling to pay social benefits, meaning that older people have not received pensions for several months. In many cities there has been no electricity or heating for weeks.
“Every person must remember that without some kind of economy it is impossible to survive in the world today,” says Yuri Makogon, head of the department of international economics at Donetsk National University.
Under the Minsk agreements, Ukraine gave the regions some increased autonomy for a three-year period, but in practice, British journalists say, President Petro Poroshenko appears to have abandoned the regions, unable to achieve a military victory.
Whether the rebels will be satisfied with what they have acquired is not clear. There are persistent rumors that Donetsk forces may try to take control of the port city of Mariupol, part of the Donetsk region under Ukrainian rule. Zakharchenko said last week that if Ukraine does not agree to surrender the city, the rebels will take it by force.
There are signs that Ukraine has already come to terms with the loss of these territories. At the entrance to the city of Mariinka, west of Donetsk, a detachment of Ukrainian border guards is stationed to inspect everyone who comes and goes from rebel territory. In adjacent areas, armored vehicles and trenches are visible, everything reminds us that there is already a makeshift border here, and this is serious and for a long time.
“If they want a republic for themselves, so be it,” says Ruslan, one of the guards at the improvised border. “They have been demanding this for so long, let them see what they have created for themselves. We are tired, we have lost too many lives to continue the fight. But they should know that there is no turning back for them, and they should not expect us to pay for them."
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