Ukraine's representative in the Trilateral Contact Group, second Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma has asked Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities of Ukraine Hennadiy Zubko to settle the situation with mobile communications in Donbas, Kuchma's press secretary, Darka Olifer, has said.

"Ukraine's representative in the Trilateral Contact Group, Leonid Kuchma, addressed Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Hennadiy Zubko with the request to settle the situation with mobile communications in Donetsk and Luhansk regions," she wrote on her Facebook page on Friday.

Earlier, Director for Corporate Management and Control at Vodafone Ukraine Oleh Prozhyvalsky said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine that the main reason of non-operation of Vodafone Ukraine's network in the occupied areas of Donetsk region was equipment blackout.

According to him, if the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic" (DPR) is interested in the full restoration of communications with Ukraine in the region, access for specialists of the operator to repair wire lines in Olenivka should be provided, and it would be the duplicating line.

He said that at present, over 30% of Vodafone Ukraine's towers in the ATO zone were not operating. Due to failures in operation in occupied areas of Donetsk region the operator cannot finish the transfer of some subscribers to other tariffs.

In addition, problems with mobile communications were also recorded in January in Luhansk region due to damage to equipment in uncontrolled territories.