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Ukraine passes bill to get occupied regions back from Russia

Conservative party seeks to restrict the law

18 January, 18:41
(ANSA-AP) - KIEV, 18 GEN - Ukraine's parliament passed a bill to reintegrate the country's eastern territories that are currently controlled by Russia-backed separatists, even supporting taking them back by military force if necessary. The bill describes the areas in Ukraine's the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as temporarily occupied" by "aggressor country" Russia. President Petro Poroshenko welcomed the new bill, saying it would help restore control of the east by "political and diplomatic means". Russian lawmakers warned, however, that the deal effectively kills the Minsk peace agreement that aimed to end the conflict. Alexander Zakharchenko, the chief rebel leader in the Donetsk region, criticized the new bill as a flagrant violation of the Minsk agreement signed by Ukraine and the rebels, saying it would encourage hawkish elements in Ukraine and fuel hostilities.

The conflict in eastern Ukraine erupted weeks after Russia's annexation of Crimea and has killed more than 10,000 people since April 2014. The 2015 Minsk peace deal helped reduce the scope of hostilities, but clashes have continued and attempts at a political settlement have stalled.

The bill, passed after raucous debate, contains no reference to the 2015 peace deal brokered by France and Germany that obliged Ukraine to pass legislation offering a broad autonomy to the separatist regions and a sweeping amnesty to the rebels. The bill backs a ban on trade and a transport blockade of the east that Ukraine introduced last year. Of all the documents issued by separatist authorities, Ukraine would only recognize birth and death certificates. (ANSA-AP).

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