Ukrainian parliament approves three years of self-government for Donetsk and Lugansk

AFP

The Donetsk and Lugansk regions, areas controlled by pro-Russian rebels, shall enjoy three years of self-government after the Ukrainian parliament approved a draft law  on Tuesday that established so.

The law of temporal self-government, which was approved by 277 deputies out of a total of 450, will only affect one third of the territory of the two rebel regions bordering with Russia.

The document submitted to the Parliament by the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, will allow free use of the Russian language, including in education, one of the main demands of the insurgents and the Kremlin and the conduction of elections for local authorities on December 7.

Regarding the fact, the self-proclaimed leader of the People’s Republic of Donetsk, Alexandr Zajárchenko, said that the rebels support the initiative only if that means its independence.

“If that way deputies have voted in favor of our independence, then we can only applaud it,” said Zajárchenko to the Interfax news agency.