Russian-backed terrorists claim they will hold illegal elections

The Donetsk People’s Republic will hold its local elections on Oct. 18, despite objections from Western and Ukrainian leaders, said Denys Pushylin, among the terrorist leaders, as reported by the dan-news.info news site. Meanwhile, the Luhansk People’s Republic will hold its local elections on Nov. 1, the report said. Pushylin also insisted that the Donetsk government be consulted on the constitutional amendments, which the Ukrainian government failed to do prior to the Aug. 31 vote.

Roman Bezsmertniy, a Ukrainian representative to the Trilateral Contact Group, confirmed the terrorists’ plans to hold elections on Oct. 18 and Nov. 1, which they intend to do based on their own rules and procedures, not the Ukrainian Constitution. They also demanded the implementation of a special order in the occupied territories, the implementation of amnesty, and a new parliamentary vote on their version of the constitutional amendments. “Everything that was done in the group was done to avoid elections being held on Oct. 18 and Nov. 1 because they will practically ruin any political dialogue,” Bezsmretniy said. “That’s why the Ukrainian side considers their statements to be an ultimatum, as does the OSCE representatives.”

Zenon Zawada: The Kremlin ultimately decides what happens on the occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and nearly two weeks ago, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov indicated the terrorists are willing to hold elections in accordance with Ukrainian law. Therefore, we don’t take the terrorists’ demands seriously, as they are likely their latest negotiating maneuvers, and we continue to watch for what the Kremlin will decide with the elections. We expect they will be a source of compromise. Otherwise, these illegal elections will simply bury the Minsk accords.