KIEV, June 11 (RIA Novosti) – The possible introduction of an emergency situation in eastern Ukraine will aggravate the already tense situation in the region, Donetsk Mayor Oleksandr Lukyanchenko said Wednesday.
“All the life-support systems in the cities across the Donetsk region are on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe, and the introduction of an emergency situation will not improve the situation, but only aggravate it,” Lukyanchenko was quoted as saying by the Ukrainian UNIAN information agency.
Earlier, Ukrainian acting Defense Minister Mikhailo Koval said that the Ukrainian government was planning to introduce an emergency situation in eastern Ukraine, where Kiev's military has been conducting a punitive operation against independence supporters for the past two months. Kiev has been using military hardware and aviation, but have so far failed to achieve any tangible results.
Mass media referred to a self-defense forces representative and reported that half of the buildings in the region's city of Slaviansk have been destroyed during the operations and 40 percent of the residents have left the city.
Ukraine underwent a Western-backed regime change resembling a military coup in February. The country’s parliament ousted former President Viktor Yanukovych, changed the constitution and scheduled an early presidential election for May 25, won by Ukrainian tycoon Petro Poroshenko.
