Ukraine cuts off rebel east as fighting rumbles on
KYIV – Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko issued a decree Saturday ordering the withdrawal of all state services from rebel-held eastern regions, a further acknowledgement that the Kremlin-backed areas are effectively breaking away.
The latest move toward splintering the war-torn ex-Soviet country came after fresh clashes between government troops and rebel fighters claimed at least five civilian lives, including those of two children, despite a nominal cease-fire that has failed to end the bloodshed.
The order from Poroshenko covers services such as schools, hospitals and emergency services, a senior security official said.
It was announced just over a week after Kyiv implemented passport controls around pro-Russian separatist areas in the east, as well as the end of state payments including pensions in the areas.
Some 5.2 million people live in areas affected by conflict in eastern Ukraine, according to the United Nations.
Poroshenko told his cabinet to take steps within a week “to terminate the activities of state enterprises, institutions and organisations in the various territories where anti-terrorist operations are being conducted,” a statement on his website said.
“This is a decisive step, the games have stopped,” the security official added. “All the structures that the state finances will be withdrawn from there. Ukraine will no longer finance them. This includes schools, kindergartens and hospitals.”