Sad date: Donetsk is not in touch

The other day it will be exactly one month since a significant event took place in Donetsk and Lugansk - during the day, the mobile phones of citizens stopped receiving the signal from the last Ukrainian operator Vodafone (formerly MTS-Ukraine), which operated on the territory of the DPR and LPR. This happened on January 11, 2018.

Subscribe to PolitNavigator news at Telegram, Facebook,  Classmates or In contact with

Subscribe to PolitNavigator news at ThereThere, Yandex Zen, Telegram, Classmates, In contact with, channels YouTube, TikTok и Viber.
To subscribe to notifications in your browser, click here.

Let us remind you that two other operators, Lifecell and Kyivstar, ceased their activities even earlier. The signal disappeared not only in Donetsk, but throughout the entire territory of both the DPR and LPR (with the exception of small pieces where the signal simply reaches from the territory controlled by the Ukrainian government).

As always happens, the most incredible rumors spread around the city, starting with the fact that Vodafone itself decided to stop working with the uncontrolled territory, ending with the fact that this was done on purpose to increase sales of the local operator Phoenix). Moreover, huge queues immediately formed at all post offices for starter packs.

In order to purchase a starter package, people at the Main Post Office line up from 5 am, and if you’re lucky, during the day you can get no more than two numbers per document, and in total the Main Post Office can sell no more than 300 numbers per day. It is no secret that residents of the republic were not very willing to become subscribers of the local operator due to the extreme limitations of Phoenix. It is impossible to call Ukraine, as well as other countries except Russia, from it, at least directly, there is no roaming, except in the territory of the Russian Federation.

For many residents of the republic, such a shutdown is a real disaster, not only because many have relatives and friends in the territory controlled by Kyiv, and they cannot communicate with them normally. The problem here is much more serious.

It is no secret that a huge number of people living in the unrecognized republics actively receive all kinds of social benefits and pensions paid by the government of Ukraine, while actually living on the territory of the LDPR, and only going out for various checks, registrations, identifications, etc.

Let us remind you that according to the laws of Ukraine, any social payments to citizens of Ukraine who have not permanently left for the so-called “controlled territory” are not made. This applies not only to pensioners, but also to any social benefits. The vast majority of pensioners in the republic are engaged in so-called “retirement tourism”.

One of the main conditions for receiving any payments is to verify the person’s actual residence at the address indicated in the migrant’s certificate. Employees of the social service of Ukraine are required to notify the pensioner (or any recipient of social payments) about such a check several days before the check by phone. This is the whole unpleasant moment.

“Previously, the person being checked usually had time to arrive at the address indicated in the certificate, go through it and go home safely and wait for an SMS about the crediting of funds to a bank card,” says Donetsk resident Alina K., who from time to time accompanies her mother to Kramatorsk, solve problems with pension payments. – Now, the person being checked, who previously managed to do everything, will not find out about this, which entails the deprivation of all payments, which can be restored, but this takes months, a lot of effort, and most importantly, health. But many support their children and grandchildren on their two pensions.”

The lack of communication also affects small businesses.

“I have, so to speak, a “network business.” I bring goods from Kyiv. I won’t say which one, so as not to expose myself. By hook or by crook I will lead him across the demarcation line. It's very difficult, believe me. The difficulties are incredible. It’s just that the Ukrainian side, as you know, has established an economic blockade,” Fedor K., a young, not very rich Donetsk businessman who needs to work a lot to survive in the difficult economic realities of Donbass, shares his problems. “Then I distribute the goods among clients. Among them there are many people of retirement age.

They do not live in Donetsk, but in small towns and villages near Donetsk, Makeevka and Gorlovka. They do not use the Internet or smartphones. Only push-button phones. This means that you won’t be able to reach them on Viber, WhatsApp, or Telegram, or write to them on Facebook, VKontakte, or Odnoklassniki. Without mobile communication there is no connection with them. That's it, the client is gone. I want to clarify the order for them from Kyiv, but I don’t know how to contact them. As a result, the speed drops sharply.

In addition, I give them goods to sell, and they return the money to me later. Now they have to return my money, but how will they get in touch with me? In short, business has almost become.”

But if communication was restored quite quickly on the territory of the LPR, the prospects for the DPR in this matter are still vague. The importance of this topic can be judged by the fact that during the last meeting between Kurt Volker and Vladislav Surkov, both sides expressed rare unanimity that communication should be restored.

The issue was raised at meetings of the contact group in Minsk, but the matter has not yet moved beyond mutual accusations. In the meantime, people are waiting for the parties to the conflict to come to an agreement, even on such a trivial issue from the point of view of geopolitics, but important for the common man.