Alexander Zakharchenko, leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) has announced plans for a new, federal state to replace the current Ukraine.
The pro-Russian rebels plan to hold a referendum calling for the creation of a new state to be known as Malorossiya, which translates as “Little Russia.”
In a statement published on the rebel-aligned Donetsk News Agency, the DNR leader Zakharchenko said that the new state would aspire to include not only the areas under insurgent control but also the rest of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s envoy for negotiations with the rebels, Yevgen Marchuk, told local media that Tuesday’s announcement “could block the negotiations entirely.”
The German government told DW that “a solution to the conflict could only be achieved through negotiation” and that “Russia, the Russian-backed separatists and Ukraine have all committed” to the Minsk agreement.
