2017

Permanent Plenipotentiary Representative of the Donetsk People's Republic at the talks of the Contact Group in Minsk Denis Pushilin commented on the situation with the planned exchange of prisoners and noted that the Republic had expected to hold it on December 27.

The oil and gas industry of Ukraine has long been, in fact, under external management. The latest appointments in Naftogaz and its subsidiary Ukrtransgaz once again confirmed this fact. So, according to the Ukrainian media reports, on December 23, Pole Pavel Jozef Stanchakwas appointed head of PJSC Ukrtransgaz, 

On December 25, representatives of the People's Council of the DPR of the Russian Federation left for the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Yugra of the Russian Federation to share their experience with their Russian counterparts.

On December 23, the grand opening of the Republican Badminton Tournament "Sporty Donbass" took place on the basis of the complex children's and youth sports school No. 5 in Donetsk.

Despite the support of the armistice and the implementation of the Minsk agreements expressed by Ukraine, Ukraine continues violating the first and main point of the accords – the "silence regime".

On December 22, according to the agenda of the plenary session, in the framework of parliamentary control over the activities of the Council of Ministers in accordance with the current legislation, the Acting Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Finance Minister Ekaterina Matyushchenko addressed the deputies with a report on the results of 2017.

The official Kiev is trying to reduce the level of claims to the authorities regarding corruption and price increases by distractions, in particular by using public opinion polls. 

The Permanent Plenipotentiary Representative of the Donetsk People's Republic at the talks of the Contact Group in Minsk Denis Pushilin in the programme "60 minutes" on the channel "Russia 1" called the work of the Ukrainian representatives in the JCCC in the absence of Russian servicemen ineffective.

On December 20, in Minsk, the final in 2017 meeting of the Contact Group on peaceful settlement of the Donbass conflict was held. The agenda of the meeting included issues of compliance with a ceasefire regime, the implementation of agreements on the withdrawal of prohibited weapons and the disengagement of forces and facilities, as well as discussion of the preparation process for the exchange of prisoners.

US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said that "Russia and its puppets are a source of violence in the east of Ukraine." Also, the United States calls on Russia "to put an end to the attacks in the east of Ukraine and to agree to an effective UN peacekeeping mission."