Separatists in Ukraine declare creation of new 'state' Malorossiya
July 19 , 2017 2713 days 1780 0
Ukraine rebels announce new 'state' in eastern part under their control.
According to a statement issued by Alexander Zakharchenko, leader of Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Zacherchenko, declared the establishment of a new state by joining "People's Republics" region. Subsequently, a referendum for Malorossiya will be held among its people after a transition period of three years.
There was no immediate comment from Russia, which has been supporting the rebels.
Malorossiya, a tsarist-era name means "Little Russia".
Eastern part of Ukraine has majority of Russian speakers. They were not alienated during the existence of USSR.
In recent times, they complained about differential treatment of Russian speakers by Ukraine. This issue escalated into an armed rebellion. Around ten thousand people were killed in Ukrainian Civil War.
Last year, the insurgents took control of Donetsk and Lugansk in the eastern region of Ukraine and declared establishment of Donetsk Republic and Lugansk People Republic.
They conducted elections and formed the government. But, Ukraine denied to acknowledge the self-declared territories.
France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia worked out an agreement in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, in 2015 which laid out a road map for ending the conflict between government troops and separatists.
Ukraine agreed to grant more autonomy in Russian- speaking regions. But the deal failed to materialize, east Ukraine continues to remain under the control of separatists.
United States and European Union have imposed severe economic sanctions on Russia, accusing it of supporting separatism in eastern Ukraine and providing weapons to the rebellions.