Kyiv plans to fence itself from Donbas with a border zone similar to the Gaza Strip

Learning from the experience of Israel, Kiev signs in their own powerlessness

Photo: Reuters

The Presidential Administration is drafting a bill on the special status of the counties in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, which today are not controlled by the central government. According to information of Capital, the bill may envisage the autonomous status of these territories. In order to limit contacts with them to the maximum, the Cabinet of Ministers is preparing to create a special 20-kilometer border zone.

Formal ties

Yesterday, during the extended meeting of the government President Petro Poroshenko promised that next week he will submit to the Verkhovna Rada a bill on the special status of self-government in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

This bill will ensure a peaceful return of these regions under Ukrainian sovereignty. And I will ask to support this initiative because the destiny of peace depends on this,” said Poroshenko.

He did not go into detail about the document being prepared, noting that the special status of certain counties in the Donbas is stipulated by agreements that were reached during talks on September 5 in Minsk on the suspension of military actions. “I reiterate that such organizations as the DPR and the LPR are not alluded to in the documents at all. The law of Ukraine “On Provisional Order of Local Self-government in Certain Counties of the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts” implies concrete status of these regions as a part of Ukraine,” Poroshenko informed.

Noteworthy is that according to the agreements in Minsk, Ukraine undertook an obligation to conduct decentralization of the government, “including the adoption of the Law of Ukraine “On Provisional Order of Local Self-government in Certain Counties of the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts”.

In Clause 9 of the agreement Ukraine undertook to ensure the holding of early local elections in compliance with the law on special status. Poroshenko announced this yesterday at the meeting of the government. “I must admit that we will not be pleased with the composite of local deputies that residents of Luhansk and Donetsk will vote for in the early elections to the city and regional councils. But is it not better when politics are decided by electoral ballots, not automatic gunfire and Grad launchers?”, the president asked.

A source in the inner milieu of the president admitted that the bill on the special status of the Donbas counties has not been finalized. However, the special status will only be presented to those counties of the Donbas that are not controlled by the central bodies of power.

An interlocutor of Capital in the Cabinet of Ministers said that in the preparation of the bill a variant of autonomous status is being considered. “De-jure, this will be along the lines of Sardinia or Southern Tirol in Italy, meaning an autonomous unit within the country. But de-facto this will not be a part of Ukraine as their leaders will be able to hold talks directly with Moscow,” the source admitted.

The source also noted that the leadership of the country was forced to agree to such a variant due to the disaster in Ilovaisk and fears that the separatists may continue their offensive and seize a larger territory.

“Early elections will be held on all territories where a special status is introduced. But as soon as the Verkhovna Rada adopts the project on amendments to the Constitution proposed by the president several months ago, such re-elections of local councils should be held all throughout Ukraine,” the source told Capital. He said in the event that the self-proclaimed republics refuse to agree to a special status, official Kyiv plans to hold talks on implementing the provisions of the law on special status directly with Moscow.

New border

Yesterday’s session of the Cabinet of Ministers is testimony to the readiness of Kyiv to gradually cut off mutual political and financial relations with the Donbas. People’s deputy Ihor Myroshnychenko of the Svoboda party, who was present at the session, told Capital that among the most debated issues was the renewal of social payouts in those regions not controlled by Ukrainian law enforcers.

The deputy said that Head of the Donetsk Oblast State Administration Serhiy Taruta, who raised this issue, stated that the authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic claim they are ready to pay pensions and wages to employees on the budget payroll without assistance from Kyiv. “Taruta said that money was apparently delivered to members of the DPR from Crimea. So, if this is in fact true, then the official government will end up in an awkward position,” Myroshnychenko told Capital.

In addition to that, according to the deputy the Head of the Donetsk Oblast State Administration insisted that the Donbas should be rebuilt at the expense of the national budget of Ukraine. “But the premier stated that Kyiv will finance only those that consider themselves citizens of Ukraine,” said Myroshnychenko.

The position of President Poroshenko, he said, coincided with the premier’s position. “The president said along the same lines that if Donetsk wants autonomy than let it support itself,” Myroshnychenko added.

Another participant of the meeting of the government behind closed doors said that yesterday the issue of forming a back-up border control zone on the territory occupied by separatists was discussed. “If we grant these regions greater economic and political freedom, we must be sure that no contraband will end up on our territory,” he said.

Chairman of the Border Service Mykola Lytvyn gave a report on the formation of the special zone. “He put in the plans to put up a border with separatist engineering structures with the aim of blocking the penetration into the depths of Ukraine,” Myroshnychenko confirmed.

According to Lytyvn’s plan, the depth of such a border zone could be as long as 20 kilometers and it will be built on money from the European Union. The regime inside the zone and the rules of its transgression will be established by the Cabinet of Ministers. The Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Regional Development and the State Border Service will manage the creation of this zone.