KIEV (Sputnik) — Kiev did not receive some $3 billion in taxes from Ukraine's eastern conflict-torn region of Donbass, country's prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Sunday.
"Three billion [dollars] of taxes is what we did not get, and losses [as a result of military action] make dozens of billions," Yatsenyuk told Ukrainian TV Channel Five.
Southeastern Ukraine is suffering from a humanitarian crisis that emerged as a result of a military operation against independence supporters, launched by Kiev authorities a year ago.
According to State Statistics Service of Ukraine, resident population in Donetsk and Lugansk as of March 1, 2015 equals 4,278,924 and 2,212,947 respectively. Currently 1 Ukrainian Hryvnia equals $0.044.
Meanwhile, Russia has been sending humanitarian aid convoys to Donetsk and Lugansk since August.
In February, foreign ministers of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine, negotiated a ceasefire deal for the warring sides in Minsk, Belarus. The agreement also stipulates full restoration of social and economic system in the country, including the payment of pensions and other social benefits.
