Updated 3:42 p.m. Moscow Time
LUHANSK, October 7 (RIA Novosti) – The Ukrainian president’s initiative to change administrative borders of the Luhansk region, which declared itself an independent state in May, is baseless, the head of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) said Tuesday.
“Poroshenko may dream of anything he wants,” LPR chief Igor Plotnitsky said.
On October 6 Petro Poroshenko made a proposal to Ukrainian parliament to review the issue of changing the borders of the Luhansk Region's districts with a view to establish order in the region. According to Ruslan Knyazevich, the president's permanent representative in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, this issue has come to the fore because some of the Luhansk Region's districts are out of the Ukrainian authorities' control. Therefore, changing the borders and integrating some districts with those that are controlled by the Ukrainian authorities was suggested.
Residents of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People's republics, refusing to recognize the coup in Kiev that took place in February. Republics declared their sovereignty, basing on the results of the referendums held in May.
Kiev does not recognize Luhansk and Donetsk People's republics. In April Kiev launched a military operation against independence supporters in the southeastern regions of the country.
