Ukrainian Parliament passes the bill on reintegration of Donbas
The Verkhovna Rada has passed a bill outlining steps to reinstate the sovereignty of Ukraine over the temporarily uncontrolled territories in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The Bill No. 7163 was passed in the second reading and was supported by 280 deputies.
The Ukrainian Parliament started considering the proposed amendments to this bill on Tuesday.
The Bill was initially presented by the MP from the Bloc of Petro Porosheno, Ivan Vinnyk, and several amendments to this bill were subsequently suggested. Some of the previously rejected amendments were approved by the deputies this time.
The bill defines the separatists LPR and DPR republics as “territories occupied by Russia”.
The purpose of the operation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donbas is defined as “measures to ensure national security and defense by deterring and repelling Russian aggression in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions “.
Under the new bill, the term “Anti-Terrorist operation (ATO)” will not be used to refer to the military operation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donbas.
The Joint Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be in command of the military operation in the Donbas.