Donetsk media have repeatedly raised the alarm about the Kiev government’s suspicious activities in eastern Ukraine, including the closure of three airports in mid-December for reasons that have never been officially explained.
“The closure of airports in [eastern] Ukraine shows that preparations are under way to disrupt the negotiations and resume hostilities,” Alexander Zakharchenko said.
Ukrainian military spokesperson Vladislav Seleznev said that the airports of Zaporizhia, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk were closed for an “anti-terrorist operation,” but gave no other details.
The self-proclaimed eastern Ukrainian republics are expecting a military intervention from Kiev forces, Alexander Zakharchenko underscored.
On Monday Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that the leaders of France, Germany, Ukraine, and Russia had reached an agreement to reconvene the Contact Group in Minsk on December 24 and 26. The first round of talks took place Wednesday. Later that day Vladislav Deinego, the chief negotiator of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) said in a statement that the talks were "difficult." The date for the next meeting is still under discussion.
In September, Kiev and the independence supporters of eastern Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire, but the warring sides have since repeatedly accused each other of violating the truce.
