September 09, 2015
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — A former rebel chief in eastern Ukraine, who has lost his job in a sudden reshuffling, on Wednesday attributed his downfall to unspecified "intrigue."
Andrei Purgin said in a telephone interview that he had spent four days under arrest at the local security agency headquarters in the rebel-held city of Donetsk before being released. He refused to discuss the reasons behind his arrest and his ouster from the post of speaker of the separatist legislature.
Purgin said he would continue his political activities even if he loses his lawmaker's seat. Some observers see Purgin's dismissal as part of Moscow's efforts to bring the rebel leadership to heel to observe a February peace deal.
The Minsk accord, brokered by Germany and France, requires that Ukraine and the rebels coordinate on holding local elections, but the rebels have set a vote for October without reaching agreement with Kiev.
Ukraine's government and the rebels have blamed each other for the failure to fulfill the accord. Volodymyr Fesenko, a Kiev-based independent political analyst, said Purgin was pushing Russia to annex the rebellious territories in the east, something Moscow doesn't want.
Fesenko described Purgin's successor, Denis Pushilin, as a follower of Vladislav Surkov, a Kremlin aide who helps set course on Ukraine. He said that Pushilin is "always ready to precisely follow Kremlin orders."
A separatist rebellion erupted in eastern Ukraine weeks after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, following the ouster of the country's former Moscow-friendly president. At least 7,962 people have died in fighting between Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian government forces since April 2014, according to the United Nations.
The Minsk deal has helped reduce hostilities, but clashes have continued. At least 105 civilians have been killed and 308 others wounded by fighting from mid-May to mid-August, according to the U.N. human rights agency.
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — A former rebel chief in eastern Ukraine, who has lost his job in a sudden reshuffling, on Wednesday attributed his downfall to unspecified "intrigue."
Andrei Purgin said in a telephone interview that he had spent four days under arrest at the local security agency headquarters in the rebel-held city of Donetsk before being released. He refused to discuss the reasons behind his arrest and his ouster from the post of speaker of the separatist legislature.
Purgin said he would continue his political activities even if he loses his lawmaker's seat. Some observers see Purgin's dismissal as part of Moscow's efforts to bring the rebel leadership to heel to observe a February peace deal.
The Minsk accord, brokered by Germany and France, requires that Ukraine and the rebels coordinate on holding local elections, but the rebels have set a vote for October without reaching agreement with Kiev.
Ukraine's government and the rebels have blamed each other for the failure to fulfill the accord. Volodymyr Fesenko, a Kiev-based independent political analyst, said Purgin was pushing Russia to annex the rebellious territories in the east, something Moscow doesn't want.
Fesenko described Purgin's successor, Denis Pushilin, as a follower of Vladislav Surkov, a Kremlin aide who helps set course on Ukraine. He said that Pushilin is "always ready to precisely follow Kremlin orders."
A separatist rebellion erupted in eastern Ukraine weeks after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, following the ouster of the country's former Moscow-friendly president. At least 7,962 people have died in fighting between Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian government forces since April 2014, according to the United Nations.
The Minsk deal has helped reduce hostilities, but clashes have continued. At least 105 civilians have been killed and 308 others wounded by fighting from mid-May to mid-August, according to the U.N. human rights agency.
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