Ukrainian Local Elections to Be Held October 25 - Poroshenko

Ukrainian local elections would be held on October 25, President Poroshenko said.

KIEV, April 2 (Sputnik) — Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced on Thursday regional elections would be held on October 25 as planned.

"Local elections must be held on October 25. There are no talks of rescheduling," Poroshenko said during his visit to Ternopilska region in the country's west.

The leaders of Ukriane's eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk have long urged Kiev authorities to give them broader authority.

Granting special status to both regions is one of the key points of the deal signed by Kiev authorities and independence supporters in February in Minsk, Belarus.

Despite the agreement reached in Minsk, the Ukrainian parliament decided to postpone giving special status to Ukraine's Donetsk and Lugansk regions until elections were held there under Ukrainian law.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the law, passed by the parliament and signed by President Poroshenko was a gross violation of the Minsk peace agreements.