Viktor Medvedchuk, the leader of the association Ukrainian Choice - People's Right and special representative for humanitarian issues to the Trilateral Contact Group, has criticized the bill on Donbas reintegration passed by the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada on Thursday, describing it as discriminating against some of Ukrainian citizens.

"It was declared originally that this legislation would promote reintegration, that is, return Donbas to Ukraine's legal framework. But the parliament, which has long been a hostage to unchallenged radicals and politicos from the 'war party', is dashing the attempts to settle the situation in Donbas peacefully with its own hands," Ukrainian Choice - People's Right quoted Medvedchuk as saying in a commentary posted on its website.

The legislation contains "a sweeping, fantastic, delirious and absolutely impracticable set of dreams about the violent regaining of territories - precisely territories, not people," and also "incantations about an 'aggressor'," which "does not have any essence but only serves to railroad the legislation discriminating against Ukrainian citizens," Medvedchuk said.

The document promotes the will of the 'war party' and does not reflect the Ukrainian people's will, he said.

"The deletion of any references to the Minsk Agreements from the text of the document showed the whole world that Ukraine is not going to implement the obligations taken on in Minsk. I'll tell you more: the adoption of this legislation shows that Ukraine is not even interested in Russia's involvement in the peaceful settlement process, the function that it is performing, in particular, in the Normandy format," Medvedchuk said.

The legislation is a deliberate attempt to dash the prospect of a peaceful settlement of the situation in Donbas, Medvedchuk said. "The parliamentary power brokers cynically sacrifice the lives of Ukrainian servicemen stationed at the contact line to their interests," he said.

In addition, the adoption of this legislation means that "the conflict in Donbas will still remain a bleeding wound on Ukraine's body, further dividing the country and making Donbas's return to Ukraine and Ukraine's return to Donbas impossible," he said.