Poroshenko Signs Law on Regional Policy Based on Decentralization Principle

The draft of the law stipulated that the Ukrainian regional policy must be built on the principles of subsidiarity and ethnic development, that is decentralization of power and the preservation of ethnic groups' culture to promote their identity.

KIEV (Sputnik) — Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a law defining the principles of the state regional policy, the president's press service said in a statement Sunday.

The ceasefire deal, signed by the Kiev forces and eastern Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk independence supporters, obliged Kiev to conduct a reform on decentralization of power in Ukraine and to grant a special status to the two southeastern regions by the end of 2015.

The draft of the law stipulated that the state regional policy must be built on the principles of subsidiarity and ethnic development, that is decentralization of power and the preservation of ethnic groups' culture to promote their identity.

The draft law cites the observance of state-guaranteed social standards for every citizen, regardless of his place of residence, as the aim of the new Ukrainian regional policy.

The February coup in Ukraine has coincided with the rise of Ukrainian ultra-nationalist organizations, including paramilitaries, such as the Right Sector. In April 2014, Kiev launched a military operation against independence supporters of its eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, mostly populated by Russian speakers.