No election in Donbas until Ukraine retakes border with Russia – Savchenko

12:11, 27.05.2016 1 min read

Member of Parliament Nadia Savchenko says it is impossible to hold elections in occupied territory in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, until the border with Russia has been retaken.

"The elections cannot be held now as the Ukrainian border is not plugged," she said at a press conference in Kyiv on Friday.

Commenting on the elections in Donbas, she said: "If there were only the people of Ukraine, we would find common ground between each other. We've got too many advice givers, and we won't be allowed to think on our own... Until we, Ukrainians, do not start to think and decide for ourselves, the elections are impossible. Savchenko also said that she did not consider the Minsk peace agreements to be effective enough, but acknowledged that they "put out the flames," which was then burning in Donbas. Shooting reduced due to the Minsk process, she admitted.