“The Ukrainian President also informed the European lawmakers about the situation in the Donbass. He also drew their attention to the lack of progress in the political part of the Minsk agreements,” the press service of the Ukrainian leader said, adding that "fake elections" in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) would undermine the peace process.
Ukraine will hold parliamentary elections on October 25. The breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk regions are expected to hold local elections on October 18 and November 1, respectively.
The local authorities of the republics have repeatedly stated that they will proceed with staging their local elections, irrespective of the wishes of Kiev, accusing Kiev of unilaterally adopting a law on the local election without consulting the breakaway regions, in violation of the Minsk peace deal.