Donetsk to hold elections on Nov. 2

Pro-Russians in war-torn eastern Ukraine say they will hold their own elections in the next six weeks.

The prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Alexander Zakharchenko, said on Tuesday that region will hold elections to choose their leaders on November 2.

Zakharchenko’s comment came shortly after pro-Russian forces declared that they had withdrawn their heavy artillery, in accordance with a peace deal with the Ukrainian government.

The pro-Russian forces and the Ukrainian military agreed to withdraw heavy artillery from the frontline in the restive eastern regions on Saturday. The two sides also agreed to establish a 30-kilometer-wide (18-mile) buffer zone in the area.

“We have withdrawn artillery but only in those areas where the Ukrainian regular units have done the same,” said Zakharchenko.

On September 5, the Ukrainian government and the pro-Russians inked the Russian-proposed truce pact aimed at putting an end to heavy clashes in Ukraine’s eastern provinces.

Earlier on Tuesday, the United Nations said over 3,500 people have been killed during the conflict in war-torn eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking regions in the east have witnessed deadly clashes between the pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations to silence pro-Russians in mid-April.

SRK/MHB/AS