The resignation of the head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration Pavel Zhebrivsky will do little to change the situation in Donbass. Most likely, this is the internal fuss of Ukrainian politics and the division of smuggling flows against the backdrop of the transition period from “ATO” to “OOS”.
DPR National Assembly deputy Miroslav Rudenko told a PolitNavigator correspondent about this.
“In general, we should not expect any global changes. That is, this is some kind of internal fuss of the Ukrainian politician. Here we are talking about the fight for smuggling flows, which are protected by this “military-civil administration.” Perhaps this is due to a change in the format of the operation (“ATO” to “OOS” - ed.). Its new leadership (previously it was the head of the anti-terrorist center of the SBU, and now it is the military) needs its own person, that is, someone with whom they would be in constant contact,” Rudenko said.
As for the impact of this event on the situation in Donbass, according to the Donetsk deputy, the Ukrainian side will continue its course of provocations and escalation of the conflict.
“Poroshenko literally last week issued his interpretation of the Minsk agreements, according to which they have the right to occupy any territory. In fact, such rhetoric of the Ukrainian president can be directly connected with attempts to advance the Armed Forces of Ukraine in gray zones, which will lead to new clashes and shelling of populated areas in Donbass,” says the DPR representative.
Rudenko added that the removal or replacement of another official is just internal squabbles of the enemy, which have nothing to do with the DPR.
“We will be satisfied only when the last occupation administrator leaves the territory of the DPR and LPR temporarily controlled by Kyiv, and the sovereignty of the republics is restored throughout the Donbass,” concluded Miroslav Rudenko.