Kiev, Donbass Dissatisfied With Poroshenko’s Constitutional Reform

The planned constitutional reform of Ukraine aimed at "decentralization" of power caused criticism among Donbass militias, Poroshenko’s coalition partners and a number of Ukrainian politicians. However, the US views the reform as an important step towards the implementation of the Minsk agreement, according to Die Welt.

The idea of a constitutional reform proposed in the Minsk agreement and discussed on Thursday during a session of the Ukrainian Parliament caused criticism among Donbass militias, Kiev politicians and Poroshenko’s coalition partners.

Thus, representative of the Radical Party Oleg Lyashko opposed the implementation of the reform, calling it "unpatriotic" and saying that it would "play into the hands of Moscow."

The initiative has also been criticized by leader of Donbass militias Denis Pushilin who argued that the reform should be discussed and carried out in conjunction with Donbass representatives.

Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Foreign Affairs Alexei Pushkov, for his turn, posted on his Twitter page that "the change of the constitution, which Poroshenko is talking about, is far from Minsk provisions; this is political fantasy of Poroshenko himself."

The reform was proposed by the Minsk agreement. It is aimed at "decentralization" of powers and provides for more autonomy for Ukrainian regions.

The US approved the initiative with the US State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland saying that "Ukraine is doing its job."

The reform was supported by 288 deputies of the Ukrainian Parliament.  However, some MPs from the governing coalition voted against it, claiming that the reform would give Moscow more opportunities “to exert influence” on Ukraine.