Ukraine at OSCE calls for abolition of Russian laws, taxes and currency in Donbas – Ukrinform. Ukraine and world news

As stipulated by the Minsk agreements, Ukraine's sovereignty in the Russian-occupied territories of Donbas must be restored, and this includes the abolition of Russian legislation, the tax system, and currency introduced there.

"We continue our efforts to resolve and mitigate the severe security, socio-economic and humanitarian consequences of the ongoing Russian aggression. Ukraine's sovereignty over the Russian-occupied Donbas must be restored. This was the goal of all three Minsk agreements approved by Ukraine, Russia, and the international community in 2014 and 2015. Russian legislation, the tax system and the currency, which have been illegally introduced by the Russian side since then, must be repealed," Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna Yevhenii Tsymbaliuk said during an online meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council on Thursday, June 18, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

Tsymbaliuk noted that the Ukrainian delegation stressed during the Trilateral Contact Group meeting on June 15 the need for full restoration of Ukrainian legislation in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, restoration of taxation and settlement systems within the Ukrainian legal framework.

"It is necessary to conduct an inventory of state-owned and private property in the temporarily occupied territories of Donbas. We are talking about enterprises of all forms of ownership, including branches of banking institutions, which were expropriated by Russia. The Ukrainian delegation also insisted during the meeting on ensuring the work of Ukrainian mobile communications operators in these territories, emphasizing that it is primarily about meeting humanitarian needs," the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna said.

Currently, there are no signs that Russia is ready to end the conflict it started in February 2014, the Ukrainian diplomat stressed. In addition, the Kremlin regime continues to destroy the long-term prospects for the future reintegration of Ukraine's temporarily occupied territories, strengthening their social, economic, and legal ties with the Russian Federation.

The so-called passportization of Ukrainian citizens in Donbas and Crimea is one of the most dangerous forms of this policy. The forced imposition of Russian citizenship in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine is not only a gross violation of Ukrainian and international law but also an unacceptable element of pressure on local residents, Tsymbaliuk noted.

He added that the Ukrainian side also condemned the recent statement by the Russian occupation administration about the participation of residents of the occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions who have illegally issued Russian passports in the vote on amendments to the Russian Constitution. This is nothing more than complete contempt for sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We are grateful to the participating states that pursue a policy of non-recognition of such Russian passports, and call on other countries to do the same," Tsymbaliuk said.

It is known that the Russian occupation administration in Donbas implements the norms of the legislation of the Russian Federation in the controlled territories, has introduced the Russian tax system and currency. In addition, Russia illegally issues passports to the residents of the occupied Donbas, claiming that up to 800,000 Russian passports could be issued to Ukrainians in Donbas by the end of the year.

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Ukraine at OSCE calls for abolition of Russian laws, taxes and currency in Donbas - Ukrinform. Ukraine and world news