Alexander Zakharchenko declared the new state the successor of Ukraine

Head of the Donetsk People's Republic Alexander Zakharchenko

Moscow. July 18. website - Head of the DPR Alexander Zakharchenko announced the establishment of a new state of Little Russia.

"We believe that the state of Ukraine in the form that it was cannot be restored. We, representatives of the regions former Ukraine, with the exception of Crimea, we declare the establishment of a new state, which is the successor to Ukraine. We agree that the new state will be called Little Russia, since the very name Ukraine has discredited itself,” DPR head Alexander Zakharchenko told reporters.

According to him, the city of Donetsk becomes the capital of Little Russia, and the city of Kyiv remains a historical and cultural center without the status of a capital city.

"National flag Little Russia recognizes the flag of Bogdan Khmelnytsky... We proceed from the fact that the Donetsk People’s Republic, along with the Lugansk People’s Republic, remain the only territories of Ukraine, not counting Crimea, where legitimate power has been preserved,” he said.

“In order to avoid chaos, we propose to introduce a state of emergency for three years, during which time the activities of any parties are prohibited, during the same period investigations begin with the involvement of the international community into crimes in Odessa, on the Maidan, in the Donbass. This decision has been ripe for a long time, but everything our time, and today we are offering the option that will stop the war,” Zakharchenko said.

"We offer new plan, a plan for the country's reintegration. Not long ago we launched a state program to unite the peoples of Donbass, we offer all residents of Ukraine a way out of the war through the re-establishment of the country, this is a peaceful way out. But there are several conditions - the residents of Ukraine themselves must support it. We have already held consultations with regional authorities and business representatives, and also if the international community supports the idea. This is our first and last proposal,” Zakharchenko said.

He believes that the authorities in Kyiv are not legitimate and are not capable of stopping the war. Zakharchenko noted that the situation in Donbass has reached a dead end, and “a knot has arisen that can no longer be cut.”

On Tuesday, the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, spoke about the creation of a “new state of Little Russia” with its capital in Donetsk. According to Zakharchenko’s plan, it should consist of 19 regions that are today part of Ukraine - with the exception of Crimea. The capital of the imaginary state is located in Donetsk, and Kyiv will be considered its cultural and historical center.

In response to Zakharchenko’s statement, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who is on a visit to Georgia, promised to return the entire Donbass to the country. According to the President of Ukraine, “Little Russia” will suffer the same fate as the already forgotten project of creating Novorossiya from Odessa to Kharkov.

“The Novorossiya project was buried. Ukraine will resume sovereignty over Donbass and Crimea,” Poroshenko was quoted as saying by his press secretary Svyatoslav Tsegolko.

In addition, immediately after Zakharchenko’s statement, the press service of the head of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic rejected participation in the meeting where the creation of the new state of Little Russia was announced. The LPR press service said in a statement that this initiative was not discussed with its representatives.

Political scientist Dmitry Oreshkin believes that Zakharchenko “has nothing left to do but remind himself with such statements.” According to the expert, the Kremlin did not know about Zakharchenko’s initiative.

“Why can’t it be possible to create such a project? Because the power structure in these territories is similar to the Soviet model of chiefdom, not the state. Accordingly, these people, who have destroyed competitors and concentrated power in their hands, view the territories as private property. In such a situation, merger is possible only in the event of a hostile takeover. For example, if Zakharchenko absorbs Plotnitsky ( Igor, head of the self-proclaimed LPR -ed.) or vice versa, Plotnitsky absorbs Zakharchenko,” the political scientist believes.

According to the expert, the Kremlin views Zakharchenko solely as a way to “destabilize the Ukrainian regime.”

“Russia does not have enough resources to support Zakharchenko. Russia is tired of supporting it, because money is being invested, but there is no result. The only result that could be expected from him is the destabilization of the Ukrainian regime, which the Kremlin really wants to punish. The basic goal is to push this hot potato back by the collar of Poroshenko so that he pays for the broken dishes, and the real social processes in this territory would be controlled from the Kremlin. That is, for it to be part of Ukraine, accordingly, all obligations to pay pensions must be decided social problems would have been the responsibility of the Ukrainian government, plus Ukraine would have received at least two million votes against Kyiv, because after the war it cannot be any other way. And the situation in the region would be controlled by Moscow. That is, Kyiv would pay for Moscow pleasures. I think that in Kyiv they also understand this, and for their part they also say the words: we will conquer, we will build, but they will not take these steps, because in this case, the regime of support and protection from the West will end,” the political scientist is sure.

In turn, Ukrainian political scientist Vladimir Fesenko believes that Zakharchenko was inspired to declare the creation of Little Russia by his adviser, writer Zakhar Prilepin.

“It seems that the idea has not received full approval in Moscow and even with our closest colleagues in Lugansk. Perhaps they also contacted Moscow and it was confirmed to them that there was no agreement to this. I think this is such self-creativity, first of all by Prilepin and partly by Zakharchenko, who is generally prone to making inadequate statements. He promised to conquer Kyiv and come to Berlin as a winner, he clearly has Napoleonic complexes, so Zakhar Prilepin knew which points to press. I think this initiative is unfeasible, first of all, because it does not meet the interests of Moscow,” Fesenko believes.

The adviser to the head of the DPR, writer Zakhar Prilepin himself, said that in Donbass they wanted to “make a surprise for Moscow, and for Washington, and, of course, for Kyiv.”

According to Prilepin, for three years Donetsk has been accumulating forces, watching “the momentary suicide of Ukraine.” And now Donetsk “is able to take on the functions of the capital and is ready to ensure law and order with the help of its armed forces in any territory of Little Russia,” the writer said.

Vladimir Fesenko also noted that the idea of ​​​​creating Little Russia directly contradicts compliance with the Minsk agreements, “some of which in Moscow, although considered impracticable, are still not ready to abandon them.”

“In Moscow, the Minsk agreements are treated like a sacred cow. They believe that they have outplayed the Ukrainians. And after 2.5 years of negotiations, we do not intend to break everything because of some Prilepin and Zakharchenko. The fact is that the idea itself is completely inadequate. Prilepin does not understand Ukraine, he represents Ukraine in Gogolian terms, as Little Russia. But with the ideas of the 19th century, with the Russian view of Ukraine as an artificial project in Ukraine, you will not achieve anything. In addition, these people do not understand that for the residents of Donetsk to call themselves Little Russians is on the verge of an insult, even for those who do not like Ukraine. You are either Ukrainian or Russian,” Fesenko explained.

The political scientist also suggested that in Moscow the idea of ​​​​creating Little Russia will be “critical” and “perhaps they will use it as a political horror story for the West, in order, for example, to scare the young French President Emanuel Macron.”

Director of the Center for Political Conjuncture and political scientist close to the Kremlin, Alexey Chesnakov, called Zakharchenko’s statement “meaningless” and said that the “Little Russia” project has nothing to do with real politics.

“The project of creating Little Russia was put forward by a number of writers and bloggers close to the leadership of the DPR. In the DPR leadership itself, many consider him frivolous. Therefore, this project is more literary than political. The Little Russian initiative has nothing to do with real politics,” the political scientist said.

“I think there is no point in discussing the intricacies of a meaningless statement,” the expert concluded.

In turn, the Kremlin called the statement on the creation of Little Russia
“Zakharchenko’s personal initiative.”

Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Russian authorities “learned about this this morning from the media” and noted that “we remain committed to the Minsk agreements.”

The head of the DPR “took away” the status of the capital of Ukraine from Kyiv, transferring it to Donetsk. © Still frame video, YouTube

The head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, announced the creation of a new state - Little Russia. He made this statement on July 18 at a press conference in Donetsk. According to him, this decision allegedly supported by representatives of the LPR and a number of territories controlled by Kyiv.

“We believe that the state of Ukraine in the form it was cannot be restored. We, representatives of the regions of the former Ukraine, with the exception of Crimea, declare the establishment of a new state, which is the successor to Ukraine. We agree that the new state will be called Little Russia, since the very name Ukraine has discredited itself,” Zakharchenko said.

He noted that Donetsk will become the capital of Little Russia, and Kyiv will simply be a “historical and cultural center.” “The state flag of Little Russia is recognized as the flag of Bogdan Khmelnitsky... We proceed from the fact that the Donetsk People’s Republic, along with the Lugansk People’s Republic, remain the only territories of Ukraine, not counting Crimea, where legitimate power has been preserved,” Zakharchenko said.

He added that it would be necessary to introduce a state of emergency in the new country for three years. “In view of avoiding chaos, we propose to introduce a state of emergency for three years, during which time the activities of any parties are prohibited, during the same period investigations begin with the involvement of the international community into crimes in Odessa, on the Maidan, in the Donbass. This decision has been ripe for a long time, but everything has its time, and today we are offering the option that will stop the war,” said the DPR leader.

He believes that the authorities in Kyiv are illegitimate and unable to stop the war. Zakharchenko noted that the situation in Donbass has reached a dead end, and “a knot has arisen that can no longer be cut.”

The statement caused a storm of emotions both on the territory of Ukraine and beyond its borders. The most unexpected was the statement by the leadership of the LPR. The republic stated that Donetsk did not discuss the Little Russia project with Lugansk. Chairman of the People's Council of the LPR Vladimir Degtyarenko explained that the LPR “did not send its official delegates to Donetsk to participate in the meeting of representatives of the regions of Ukraine.” “Moreover, we were not even aware of the intention to hold this event; this issue was not agreed upon with us,” Degtyarenko noted.

“After all, such decisions can only be made taking into account the opinion of the people themselves. In addition, today we comply with the Minsk agreements, to which there is no alternative,” said the speaker of parliament. — We are ready to discuss this issue if proposals are received. But, I repeat once again, this issue was not submitted for consideration.”

A little later, a similar statement was circulated by the press service of the Administration of the Head of the LPR. “The Lugansk People’s Republic was created as a result of the will of the people, and we do not have the right to take such steps without taking into account the opinion of the residents of the republic. The Republic considers it important to remain committed to the Minsk agreements and will continue to demand their implementation from Ukraine,” the press release said.

In fact, even his Donetsk associates criticized Zakharchenko’s statement. Chairman of the People's Council of the DPR Denis Pushilin said that the issue of creating Little Russia needs discussion and detailed study. "Creation public education Little Russia could be an interesting initiative. However, in my opinion, it is more correct to first submit such issues for discussion in parliament and a national referendum. The issue is debatable, and we must know the opinion of society,” the speaker of parliament said in a statement.

Pushilin emphasized that so far the idea of ​​​​creating Little Russia has not been supported by the normative acts of the DPR and LPR and has not received an unambiguous assessment both in the “people's republics” and in Russian Federation. “When such tasks are set by management, we are ready for discussion,” the statement noted.

In general, in all the assessments of “colleagues” one can read sincere bewilderment and even irritation, although diplomatically disguised. But the former Secretary of the Security Council of the self-proclaimed DPR, whom many call the leader of the opposition, Alexander Khodakovsky explained Zakharchenko’s statement to Rosbalt with the need to “create a parallel reality.”

“In essence, the statement made is a reaction to the situation described by the formula “the upper classes cannot, the lower classes do not want.” It is the stagnation in the implementation of the Minsk agreements that forces some stimulation, says one of the “fathers” of the Donetsk Republic. “In the spring, we collected reservists and prepared for an escalation - the tension was relieved in a different way, but Minsk did not budge. Now we have taken this step. But this applies to the upper political level. Below, that is, in the active communities of Donbass, the need for, if not global, then at least private changes with big consequences, has also long been overdue. It became increasingly obvious that the initial division of the rebel territory into two dwarf states was wrong, where even the minister had less “land” than the head of some regional department. From an ideological point of view, such a division was a loss, but from an economic point of view, it was a direct blow to the economy, which was in a state of shock.”

He added that there are many reasons why the unification of territories is a pressing issue. “In this case, the proclamation of this unification was made in a more provocative form and with the possibilities of expansion initially laid down,” Khodakovsky said.

Zakharchenko’s statement was also reacted to in Russia, although not yet at the “Kremlin” level. The State Duma considered the initiative “contradictory.” The head of the Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots, Leonid Kalashnikov, said that the leadership of the DPR should be more careful. “On the one hand, Russia will demand compliance with the Minsk agreements, but at the same time we must not forget that they are not currently being implemented by Ukraine. On the other hand, I understand Zakharchenko as a human being,” Kalashnikov said in a comment to Interfax.

“But the point is not in the name, the essence does not change from the name. You need to understand these people. And we, on the one hand, will talk about compliance with the Minsk agreements, but we need to think about what to do with these people who have been asking to go to Russia for a long time, but they are not accepted, and Ukraine does not need them - of course, they are forced to talk about creating own state, said the deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. — As the head of the committee, I cannot support this (Zakharchenko’s decision to establish Little Russia). But as a person, as a communist, as a deputy, I have long called on Russia to recognize these states.”

Kyiv, of course, saw a clear “Russian trace” in Zakharchenko’s statement. Petro Poroshenko, during his visit to Georgia, recalled that the previous project, “Novorossiya,” had already been buried and promised to restore sovereignty over Donbass and Crimea. He also called Zakharchenko a puppet of the Kremlin.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin is confident that the statement by the head of the DPR, Alexander Zakharchenko, is Russia’s attempt to play out the “Abkhaz scenario” in the Donbass. “The Kremlin puppeteers with their Donbass puppets staged another farce, pulling Little Russia out of mothballs,” he wrote on Twitter.

In the Russian media, answers to the question “Why?” generally not much, but, for example, RBC does not see the “hands of the Kremlin” in Zakharchenko’s statement. In particular, the publication notes that Vladislav Surkov, assistant to the President of the Russian Federation, who oversees the Ukrainian direction, has nothing to do with this “initiative.” Citing two sources close to the presidential administration, the journalists reported that “the administration was off topic. This is a personal initiative of Zakharchenko and his associates.”

At the same time, political scientist Alexei Chesnakov, close to the Kremlin, told TASS that the project of creating Little Russia was put forward by “writers and bloggers close to the leadership of the DPR,” and many in the leadership of the Donetsk Republic itself consider it frivolous. “The project is more literary than political. The Little Russian initiative has nothing to do with real politics... A lot of noise has been made, but in a month everyone will forget about Little Russia, including the authors of this idea,” the expert said.

And in fact, the Russian writer, DPR army major Zakhar Prilepin did not deny his involvement in the idea of ​​​​proclaiming Little Russia. “We really wanted to make a surprise for Moscow, and for Washington, and, of course, for Kyiv, first of all. Both for Odessa and Kharkov. And I see what's happening. People in general already understand the historicism of this event, but I think that several officials are standing at the window in Kyiv and want to jump out shouting “The Russians are coming!” Now Donetsk is completely serious and on all grounds that it is capable of taking on the functions of the capital and is ready to ensure law and order with the help of its armed forces in any territory of Little Russia,” he noted in a commentary to KP.

According to him, the constitutional act that was announced in the DPR absolutely fits into the Minsk agreements. “Firstly, we are in fact ceasing to be separatists; they can no longer call us that, because we stand for a unified statehood. And we certainly cease to be terrorists, because we advocate a peaceful solution to the issue, and we even proposed the document necessary for this. Donetsk refuses many preferences in order to simply dissolve in the overall completeness of Little Russian statehood,” the writer said. He added that Little Russia will be an independent state, “which, of course, now sets as its task the creation of a united state of Little Russia, Belarus and Russia.”

A Rosbalt correspondent, asking Donbass and Ukrainian political scientists to comment on the situation with the “birth of a new state,” oddly enough, was faced with the reluctance of a number of experts to say anything. Some simply “didn’t want to”, others referred to the lack complete information, however, it was possible to collect a number of authoritative opinions.

“Firstly, this is a signal to raise the stakes in the future stage of negotiations, since we are coming to the Minsk process new stage. The Volcker format with Surkov is being connected, the configuration in the Normandy format is changing in connection with Macron, who has his own idea, says Mikhail Pogrebinsky, director of the Kyiv Center for Political Research and Conflictology. “Another important signal is that the expectation that Trump will take the path of compromise with Moscow is not justified, so the situation when Trump is not ready to enter into conflict with Congress forces Moscow to respond harshly.”

Pogrebinsky notes that “the unrecognized republics and Moscow behind them are demonstrating determination in view of the futility of the Minsk agreements and Ukraine’s unwillingness to implement them.” He suggests that this new stage of negotiations could begin as early as August.

“Now the West continues to take the position that all responsibility lies with Moscow. So Moscow gives the go-ahead for such a statement. Another Ukraine is being created, Little Russia, which does not limit itself to two republics. This does not look like a legitimate event that changes the map of Europe, but is an application for a new negotiating position of the republics and Moscow at the same time. Before a new stage negotiation process Zakharchenko’s statement is an increase in rates. But Ukraine raised the first stakes when it announced the preparation of a bill on the reintegration of Donbass that would violate the Minsk process,” the political scientist noted.

According to Pogrebinsky, the statement by the head of the DPR will strengthen Moscow’s negotiating position, which has not shown toughness so far. “Now it’s hard to imagine a meeting of the four with Poroshenko’s participation. The Kremlin has made it clear that Poroshenko is now a nobody and there is no way to call him,” he says, adding that there will be no sharp reaction from Kyiv to Zakharchenko’s initiative.

“Until now, Russia has demonstrated its unwillingness to respond to the challenges and insults that are regularly heard from Kyiv. Now Moscow has given a signal that the unrequited time is over. And this is a cause for concern. We’ll see how Kyiv reacts,” the expert concluded.

The director of the Institute also says that such a statement will change the Minsk format global strategies Vadim Karasev. “This will give Minsk a new breath, but on different terms with higher stakes and higher negotiating positions. The republics will not withdraw from the negotiation process, because the one who leaves first will lose. Zakharchenko’s statement is actually an invitation to new negotiations,” the political scientist notes in a commentary for Rosbalt.

Karasev says that such an initiative is aimed at including in Ukraine not the DPR-LPR regions with a special status, but some kind of “autonomous subject.” The expert notes that Kyiv may perceive this statement by Zakharchenko as a breakdown of negotiations. “De facto, such a statement is a way out of Minsk. But on the other hand, everything will whistle from the reaction of Western partners. They may interpret this as a withdrawal from the agreements or as an attempt to impose their order of the day and political agenda at the negotiations on Minsk. But I think the West is unlikely to say that Zakharchenko’s statement is a way out, because this is their project. The West will look for a compromise within the framework of negotiations,” concluded Vadim Karasev.

But the director of the Kyiv Center for Political Marketing, Vasily Stoyakin, says that “the statements themselves, whatever they may be, are not a way out of the negotiation process, because during the time that has passed since the conclusion of the Minsk agreements, both parties have already said so many". “I suggest it is better to pay attention to the actions of the parties, and not to their words,” the political scientist said.

“As I understand it, there is a search for some possible forms of implementing a peace plan for Ukraine, because the implementation of the Minsk agreements gives absolutely nothing, it does not stop the conflict itself,” the expert tells Rosbalt. — If you imagine the implementation of the Minsk agreements, it will look like this: the armed forces of the unrecognized republics are disbanded, the republics themselves are liquidated, and the territories become part of Ukraine. It's easy to imagine what this will lead to. Moreover, martial law will be immediately introduced and the cleanup of these areas will begin. Everyone understands perfectly well that with this approach, if the goal of the agreements is to end the conflict, their direct implementation will lead to us returning to the situation in the spring of 2014.”

“As far as I understand, the people who drew up the agreements meant that in the process the Ukrainian government should change to such an extent that it would be so democratic that it would not pose a threat to the population. But even then it was clear that nothing like this would happen. On the other hand, in such conditions, it is not profitable for the Russian Federation to fully support the implementation of agreements, because it is unknown how it will all end. Therefore, we need to find some format that would allow us to avoid unforeseen consequences for both parties in the future. Searching by format. Whether it’s Little Russia or something else,” says Stoyakin.

President of the Center for Social Research “Sofia”, director of the expert-analytical group “New Ukraine” Andrey Ermalaev, commenting on the situation to us, sees in Zakharchenko’s statement a project of “two Ukraines” - after the obvious failure of the “Novorossiya” project. “For now it can be considered as a trial balloon, given the stalled Minsk and on the eve of new initiatives of the “Normandy group”, which has not yet had time to come up with the “Normandy memorandum” (which I personally expect in the near future). This is also a proactive initiative towards supporters of the so-called. "Croatian script". Roughly speaking, the stakes for new negotiations have been raised. The next step is up to the Normans,” the expert said.

Well, this is all “theory”, and in the meantime the DPR has declared its readiness to defend “Little Russia” even by military means. “Ukraine is disappearing. In Minsk there is no definition of what or how it should be called; there is integrity of borders, sovereignty. So we proclaimed the integrity of the borders of “Little Russia” and sovereignty. Therefore, we do not contradict Minsk. But if we are not heard peacefully, we will go the military route,” said Deputy Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed republic Alexander Timofeev.

True, he made this statement “in the morning.” And since then, the “seriousness” of the proclamation of “Little Russia” has been seriously questioned.

Vitaly Romanov, Lugansk

The idea of ​​the head of the DPR Alexander Zakharchenko about creating a federal state of Little Russia turned out to be an initiative of his circle and was unexpected for the Kremlin, two sources close to the presidential administration said to RBC

Alexander Zakharchenko (Photo: Viktor Drachev / TASS)

On Tuesday, July 18, the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Alexander Zakharchenko, announced the creation of a new federal state called Little Russia, which, according to him, will include all regions of what is now Ukraine. For the assistant Russian President Vladislav Surkov, who oversees the Ukrainian direction, took Zakharchenko’s initiative as a surprise, according to two RBC sources close to the presidential administration.

“The initiative 100% did not come from Surkov,” one of the sources told RBC. According to him, the idea came from the entourage of the head of the DPR. “The administration was out of touch. This is a personal initiative of Zakharchenko and his associates,” confirmed another RBC interlocutor.

An expert close to Vladislav Surkov, Alexey Chesnakov, told TASS that the project of creating Little Russia was put forward by a number of writers and bloggers close to the leadership of the DPR, and many in the leadership of the Donetsk Republic itself consider it frivolous. “The project is more literary than political. The Little Russian initiative has nothing to do with real politics,” he said. “There is a lot of noise, but in a month everyone will forget about Little Russia, including the authors of this idea,” the expert concluded.

A message on the Donetsk Republic News portal said that the decision to create Little Russia was made jointly by the authorities of the DPR and LPR. But in the coming hours after Zakharchenko’s statement, the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic became involved in the idea of ​​Little Russia. The LPR authorities did not take part in the meeting held in Donetsk, at which the creation of a new state called Little Russia was announced, said Vladimir Degtyarenko, chairman of the LPR People's Council.

According to Zakharchenko, the new state will be called Little Russia, “since the very name Ukraine has discredited itself.” The capital of Little Russia should be Donetsk, while Kyiv will become its historical and cultural center. Little Russia will become a federal state with broad autonomy, DPR Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Timofeev. According to the DPR leadership, the central authorities will deal with issues of the federal budget, army and intelligence services. Timofeev proposed “to elect on a personal basis” representatives from the regions to the Constitutional Assembly and to establish “ new country Little Russia" and adopt a new constitution in a national referendum. According to the “official website” of the DPR, Little Russia should consist of 19 regions of the former Ukraine.

The head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic on the creation of a new state - Little Russia. According to him, this is necessary to overcome the deadlock in Ukraine. It is planned to make Donetsk the capital; Kyiv is destined to become a historical and cultural center. I figured out what the new state could be like and what would happen with the Minsk agreements.

Re-establishment of Ukraine

At a special press conference, Zakharchenko read out the Constitutional Act of Little Russia, as well as a political declaration. He announced the creation of a new state on behalf of representatives of the regions of the “former Ukraine”. “We agree that the new state will be called Little Russia, since the very name “Ukraine” has discredited itself,” he said. It is planned to make the flag of Bohdan Khmelnytsky the state flag. “We proceed from the fact that the Donetsk People’s Republic, along with the Lugansk People’s Republic, remain the only territories of Ukraine, not counting Crimea, where legitimate power has been preserved,” Zakharchenko added. He also noted that a state of emergency would be introduced on the territory of Little Russia for three years. According to him, this is being done “in order to avoid chaos.” “During this time, the activities of any parties are prohibited, at the same time investigations begin with the involvement of the international community into crimes in Odessa, on the Maidan, in the Donbass. This decision has been ripe for a long time, but everything has its time, and today we are offering the option that will stop the war,” Zakharchenko said.

The need to create Little Russia is due to the fact that the Ukrainian state is destroyed and, in his opinion, cannot be restored. According to him, the situation in Donbass has reached a dead end, a “knot has been tied that can no longer be cut.” The head of the DPR emphasized that in this regard, a new plan for the reintegration of Ukraine is needed. “Not long ago we launched a state program to unite the peoples of Donbass; we offer all residents of Ukraine a way out of the war through the re-establishment of the country - this is a peaceful way out,” Zakharchenko said. He also listed the conditions under which the idea will be implemented: it must be supported by the residents of Ukraine and the international community. However, whether they will do this is still unclear.

The Minister of Revenue and Duties of the DPR that Little Russia will become a federal state with broad autonomy. Issues of the federal budget, army and intelligence services will remain under the jurisdiction of the central authorities. “We propose to elect representatives from all regions on a personal basis to the Constitutional Assembly, at which the country of Little Russia will be established and a new constitution will be adopted,” he said. Timofeev added that the Constitution of Little Russia will be adopted in a national referendum after discussion. Before this, “a broad public discussion will be held at both the regional and federal levels.” The official added that the new state will set a course towards joining the union of Russia and Belarus.

"Looks weird"

The announcement of the creation of Little Russia raises several questions. Firstly, the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic denied its participation in the project. The head of the LPR did not say a word about this, but the chairman of the people's council, Vladimir Degtyarenko, expressed doubts about the feasibility of the Donetsk initiative. “The Lugansk People's Republic did not send official delegates to Donetsk to participate in the meeting of representatives of the regions of Ukraine. Moreover, we were not even aware of the intention to hold this event; this issue was not agreed upon with us,” Degtyarenko explained.

The second important point: it is not very clear how the creation of Little Russia correlates with the Minsk agreements. Actually, after the signing of the Minsk agreements, another integration project, Novorossiya, the creation of which was announced on May 24, 2014, sank into oblivion. It was assumed that the Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye, Odessa, Nikolaev, Kharkov and Kherson regions of Ukraine would be able to join Novorossiya. In the south-east of Ukraine at that time there were mass protests of citizens outraged by the events on the Maidan; many were inspired by the initiative. However, in May 2015, Donbass officials announced the “closure of the project.” The speaker of the Novorossiya parliament then explained that “the activity is frozen because it does not fit into the peace plan signed in the presence of the Normandy Four countries.” Moreover, in January 2017, Alexander Zakharchenko said that because of the Minsk agreements, the unification of the DPR and LPR is impossible. According to him, he and Igor Plotnitsky are “signatories of the Minsk agreements.” “This means that there are two signatures as heads of state. Today, any unification is a change in the Minsk format itself, which we are not ready for at the moment,” explained the head of the DPR.

Now, however, in Donetsk, Little Russia does not contradict the agreements in the Belarusian capital. “Our proposals do not contradict Minsk-2. This is the implementation of "Minsk". In “Minsk” there is no definition of what or how it should be called, there is integrity of borders, sovereignty. So, we proclaimed the sovereignty and integrity of the borders,” DPR Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Timofeev told reporters.

Oleg Tsarev told journalists that the creation of Little Russia raises many questions: “Firstly, Zakharchenko had to coordinate this with the parliament of the republic. Secondly, with the Lugansk People's Republic. But there are no statements from [Igor] Plotnitsky, although they should have announced this together. It all looks strange."

It is still difficult to talk about the prospects of the new state. It is clear that Little Russia will not receive recognition from international structures, just as the DPR and LPR did not receive it. At the beginning of March, Zakharchenko allocated only 60 days of life to the Ukrainian state - perhaps the head of the DPR is still confident in his forecast and is preparing to take over the power that is about to collapse in Kyiv.

On the other hand, the Donetsk initiative may provoke increased activity of Ukrainian security officials and politicians. In Kyiv, the idea of ​​canceling the ATO has been actively discussed lately (an anti-terrorist operation in Kyiv is called fighting in Donbass), a law on armed operations is being prepared for adoption. It is possible that the emergence of Little Russia will lead to a complete rejection of the Minsk agreements by the parties and a new aggravation on the contact line. The President of Ukraine has already “buried” the integration project.