MOSCOW, November 5 (RIA Novosti) — Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council has ordered law enforcement agencies to track down the organizers of the newly held elections in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics, as well as any observers who monitored the elections, a spokesperson for the council said Wednesday.
Law enforcement bodies must "take comprehensive measures to locate the organizers and observers of the so-called elections in some areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions," Andriy Lysenko told journalists.
Following a February coup in Kiev, Donetsk and Luhansk residents established people's republics that later declared independence. The self-proclaimed republics held elections for the heads of local governments and representatives of legislative bodies on Sunday. Ukraine's central authorities have refused to recognize the elections.
Some 70 foreign observers traveled to the Donetsk People's Republic to monitor the elections. The Security and Defense Council has previously stated that these people are to be declared persona non grata by Kiev authorities.
The crisis in Ukraine escalated when Kiev authorities launched a military operation against independence supporters in eastern Ukraine in mid-April. Following months of bloodshed, the conflicting sides signed a ceasefire agreement on September 5 in Minsk.
