{"id":89516,"date":"2018-09-10T14:49:23","date_gmt":"2018-09-10T14:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uacrisis.org\/?p=68501"},"modified":"2018-09-12T11:45:51","modified_gmt":"2018-09-12T08:45:51","slug":"68501-weekly-update-ukraine-70-september-2-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/68501-weekly-update-ukraine-70-september-2-9","title":{"rendered":"Chemical contamination in Crimea, \u201cElections\u201d in the \u201cDPR\u201d and \u201cLPR\u201d and more \u2013 Weekly Update on Ukraine #70, September 2- 9"},"content":{"rendered":"

Situation in the combat zone<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Russia-backed militants were conducting precision fire from grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms. They made attacks upon the Ukrainian troops\u2019 positions in the area of Krymske, Myronivskyi, Zaitseve, Shumy, Opytne, Pisky, Pavlopil, Hnutove, Vodyane and Lebedynske. Regardless of the \u201cschool-time\u201d ceasefire in force, Russian proxies considerably increased the number of attacks.<\/p>\n

On September 5 Russia-backed militants fired upon the residential area of Krasnohorivka, Donetsk region, from heavy machine guns causing fire and damages to a residential house. The fire was localized with the joint effort of the military and of the State Emergency Service \u2013 both being part of the Joint Forces. On September 8 at about 18:00 two servicemen of the Joint Forces were killed in a road accident.<\/p>\n

\n

Chemical contamination in Crimea: the plant ceases operation<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cCrimean Titanium\u201d plant in the annexed Crimea has ceased operation completely after chemical substances were released from the acid reservoir into the air, reports<\/a>\u00a0Russia\u2019s Ria Novosti referring to Russian MP Mikhail Sheremet.<\/p>\n

As of September 9, 45 persons seeking medical assistance were let pass from Crimea into mainland Ukraine through the control points Chaplynka and Kalanchak, that were closed down earlier. All the persons to have entered were complaining of a bad health condition and were headed to Kherson region to get medical assistance.<\/p>\n

Read also: \u201cEnvironmental disaster in Crimea: key things to know\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cElections\u201d in the \u201cDPR\u201d and \u201cLPR\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Following the headline-making murder of the head of the \u201cDonetsk People\u2019s Republic\u201d (\u201cDPR\u201d) Aleksandr Zakharchenko, the situation in the occupied territories keeps escalating. Preparations are on for the new \u201celections\u201d that are contradictory to the Minsk agreements. Meanwhile, the Russian Federation is using Zakharchenko\u2019s murder to blame it all on Ukraine.<\/p>\n

New elections.<\/strong>\u201cDeputies\u201d of the \u201cPeople\u2019s Council\u201d of the \u201cLuhansk People\u2019s Republic\u201d<\/a>(\u201cLPR\u201d) decided to hold the \u201celections\u201d of the head and \u201cdeputies\u201d of the \u201cLPR parliament\u201d on November 11, 2018. Similar decision was adopted in the \u201cDPR\u201d. Moreover, after Zakharchenko\u2019s murder the \u201cDPR\u2019s People\u2019s Council\u201d appointed Denys Pushylin the \u201cDPR head ad interim\u201d before the \u201celection\u201d results are known.<\/p>\n

Read also: \u201c\u2019DPR\u2019 head Aleksandr Zakharchenko killed: what\u2019s next?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Key facts on Denys Pushylin, the new \u201cDPR\u201d head. <\/strong>Denys Pushylin was born in Makiyivka, Donetsk region, he is 37 years old. He studied at the Donbas National Academy for Construction and Architecture without making it to the graduation. On April 5, 2014 Pushylin called himself a \u201cdeputy\u201d to the self-proclaimed \u201cgovernor\u201d of Donetsk region Pavlo Gubarev, who was then arrested by Ukraine\u2019s Security Service. Pushylin headed the rally in Donetsk, that was demanding a referendum similar to the Crimean one, as they put it. On the next day, participants of the rally seized the building of the Donetsk regional state administration with the same demands.<\/p>\n

On May 15 Denys Pushylin became the presidium head of the \u201cDPR\u2019s Supreme Council\u201d \u2013 the \u201crepublic\u2019s\u201d highest \u201cpost\u201d at that time. Already on July 18, he voluntarily resigned becoming coordinator and co-head of the \u201csocial and political movement People\u2019s Front of Novorossiya\u201d.<\/p>\n

On November 9, 2014 the head of the \u201cDPR\u201d Aleksandr Zakharchenko appointed Pushylin to represent the \u201crepublic\u201d in the negotiations of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk. According to Radio Liberty<\/a>, Denys Pushylin is a figure fully controlled and loyal to Kremlin curators. Pushylin works to preserve the situation in the uncontrolled territories unchanged. Russia can easily pass the decisions it needs through him \u2013 be it the annexation of the occupied part of Donbas to Russia or the full reintegration of the uncontrolled territories into Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Reaction of Ukraine\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. <\/strong>In the view of the intention by the occupational administration<\/a>\u00a0of the Russian Federation to hold the so-called early elections in the occupied parts of Donetskand Luhansk regions, Ukraine\u2019s Foreign Affairs Ministry calls upon the international partners to intensify the pressure on Moscow. These \u201celections\u201d contradict the Minsk process, Ukraine\u2019s Foreign Affairs Ministry emphasizes.<\/p>\n

A threat to Minsk. <\/strong>Ukraine\u2019s second President<\/a>\u00a0and representative to the Trilateral Contact Group Leonid Kuchma is of the opinion that the decision to hold \u201celections\u201d in \u201cDPR\u201d and \u201cLPR\u201d may be putting the Minsk process under threat. \u201cThis decision fully contradicts the Minsk agreements. It is a very serious step that may put an end to the Minsk process,\u201d Kuchma told journalists in Kyiv last Friday. He also said that this decision would not have been adopted if Russia hadn\u2019t previously approved it.<\/p>\n

Reaction of Ukraine\u2019s western partners. <\/strong>The European External Action Service<\/a>\u00a0stated that the intention to hold \u201celections\u201d in \u201cDPR\u201d and \u201cLPR\u201d contradicts the Minsk agreements. The statement emphasizes<\/a>\u00a0that the announcement of the so-called \u201celections\u201d in \u201cLPR\u201d and \u201cDPR\u201d on November 11 \u201cruns contrary to the spirit and letter of the Minsk agreements, which have specific provisions regarding the organisation of local elections in that region\u201d.<\/p>\n

Reaction of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the Russian Federation. <\/strong>Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov<\/a>\u00a0called the Normandy Format \u201chypocritical\u201d after the murder of the \u201cDPR\u201d head Aleksandr Zakharchenko, reports Liga.net with a reference to the Russian site Ria Novosti that is blocked in Ukraine. \u201cWe are not rejecting the Normandy Format, but it would be simply inappropriate and hypocritical to organize a Normandy Format meeting now, especially while neither Berlin, nor Paris have expressed their condemnation of this political murder that took place in Donetsk,\u201d Lavrov said.<\/p>\n

\n

Ukraine\u2019s local Orthodox Church: how is it going?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople<\/a>\u00a0appointed Archbishop Daniel of Pamphilon (the US) and Bishop Ilarion of Edmonton (Canada) its exarchs in the context of preparation to granting autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. The Russian Orthodox Church<\/a>\u00a0reacted with a \u201cdecisive protest\u201d and \u201cstrong indignation\u201d upon the news on the appointment of the two exarchs to Kyiv made by the Constantinople\u2019s Patriarchate. Respective statement was published on the web site of the Moscow Patriarchate on September 8. The Russian Orthodox Church claims that the decision on the exarchs\u2019 appointment \u201cwas made without prior agreement with the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus’ Kirill and with the Metropolitan of Kyiv and of all Ukraine Onufriy, and is a blatant disregard of the church canons\u201d. According to the Russian Orthodox Church, the decision \u201cis fully contradictory to the position of the Constantinople\u2019s Patriarchate and to the personal position of Patriarch Bartholomew, who had previously made statements saying that he recognizes Metropolitan Onufriy as the one and only canonical head of Ukraine\u2019s Orthodox Church\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Moscow Patriarchate stated<\/a>\u00a0that they will cut all contact with the Constantinople Church because of the decision to grant autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. According to the representative of the external church relations department of the Russian Orthodox Church Metropolitan Ilarion, they have \u201cexhausted the means of church diplomacy for now\u201d. Commenting on the recent meeting between the Patriarch Kirill and the Head of Constantinople Church Patriarch Bartholomew held to discuss the fate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Ilarion said that \u201cfrom the outside it seemed like a fully civilized, polite and even brotherly talk\u201d, while in addition to \u201cnot having heard\u201d the arguments of the Russian Orthodox Church the other side \u201cacted in a vile and insidious way\u201d.<\/p>\n

Read also: \u201cChurch diplomacy: Kyiv between Moscow and Constantinople\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and<\/p>\n

\u201cReligion and politics: key things to know as Kyiv and Moscow clash in a new church disagreement\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\t\"\"\t\t\n\t\t\tView Gallery<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t12 images\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/a>\n<\/figure>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Situation in the combat zone Russia-backed militants were conducting precision fire from grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms. They made attacks upon the Ukrainian troops\u2019 positions in the area of Krymske, Myronivskyi, Zaitseve, Shumy, Opytne, Pisky, Pavlopil, Hnutove, Vodyane and Lebedynske. Regardless of the \u201cschool-time\u201d ceasefire in force, Russian proxies considerably increased the […] More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":89517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[705,748],"tags":[],"section":[743],"form":[801],"yoast_head":"\nChemical contamination in Crimea, \u201cElections\u201d in the \u201cDPR\u201d and \u201cLPR\u201d and more \u2013 Weekly Update on Ukraine #70, September 2- 9 | UACRISIS.ORG<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Situation in the combat zone Russia-backed militants were conducting precision fire from grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms. 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