Separatist Ukraine Elections Make U.S. Midterms Seem Even More Boring
This weekend some truly bizarre elections, featuring armed soldiers and artillery fire, were held in the self-styled People's Republic of Donetsk and the People's Republic of Luhansk.
A militant in Donetsk, Ukraine, photographed in April. Denis Kornilov / Shutterstock.com
This weekend some truly bizarre elections, featuring armed soldiers and artillery fire, were held in the self-styled People’s Republic of Donetsk and the People’s Republic of Luhansk.
According to the Los Angeles Times, in Donetsk “the breakaway region’s election committee, which operated without a voter registry, conducted polling in the presence of armed fighters and carried ballot boxes to villagers who were reluctant to brave artillery fire to vote.”
Both contests were condemned by the U.N., the E.U., the U.S. and, of course, the government in Kiev.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko responded by trying to revoke a law providing more autonomy to the breakaway territories.
— Posted by Peter Z. Scheer
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.
At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.
Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.
Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.
Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.
Donate now.
Russian and Ukrainian officials expressed cautious optimism following discussions in which Russia pushed for Ukraine to take back legal control of eastern territories.
The Russian president has declared that all military deaths -- in peacetime as well as wartime -- will be classified as state secrets, with violations punishable by up to seven years in prison.
When the people of the Donetsk area protested imposed changes, Kyiv launched an “anti-terrorist” operation against them. I saw firsthand these “terrorists,” who had decided to build something different from the oligarchic regime. Theirs is an enormous and difficult task.
Civilians are fleeing parts of east Ukraine as fighting there reaches its worst point since a shaky cease-fire was established in February.
Moscow denies its soldiers are crossing the border into Ukraine. But 20-year-old Russian conscript Dorji Batomunkuev told reporters how he was seriously injured near the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk.
Just in time for the holidays, Kiev has limited access to credit cards and bank accounts, and promised to cut off funds for hospitals and schools.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.