Parliament Speaker Signs List of Donbas Regions to Receive Special Status

The Verkhovna Rada published a confirmed list of districts and cities within the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s republics to receive a special status.

KIEV (Sputnik) – The list of districts and cities within the eastern Ukrainian self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s republics to receive a special status has been confirmed and signed by the country’s parliament speaker.

The confirmation has been published on the Verkhovna Rada’s official website.

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian parliament decided to postpone giving special status to Ukraine’s breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk regions until elections were held in Donbas under Ukrainian law, outlining, however, the list of particular districts within Donbas that are to be granted special status.

The parliament also declared parts of Donbas to be "temporarily occupied" territories.

Donetsk and Luhansk declared their independence following the overthrow of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014, prompting Kiev to launch a military operation in the region.

In February, the leaders of Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia met in Minsk, Belarus to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. The Minsk meeting resulted in a new truce agreement that included granting special status to regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.