The "DPR" said they would not give occupied Debaltsevo to Ukraine. The Kremlin is not so categorical

The so-called "authorities of the DPR" say they do not agree to leave occupied Debaltsevo in violation of the Minsk agreements. It was stated by the head of the delegation of the "DPR" in Minsk Denis Pushilin.

"As for the city itself, on which Ukrainian side is punctually trying to speculate, Debaltsevo is our city and authorities of "the Donetsk People's Republic" will never make decisions that harm its citizens," - he said.

Earlier, president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov expressed Russia's position on Debaltsevo. "The Russian side doesn’t agree completely to transfer control over Debaltsevo to Ukrainian authorities," - he said. According to him, the issue that was raised by the Ukrainian side, is "bracketed" as not agreed ... "Work on this issue will continue at the level of ministers and assistants," - said Peskov.

As previously reported, Debaltsevo refers to a city which under the Minsk memorandum should be under control of the Ukrainian authorities. However, with the support of Russian troops, militants of the "DPR" occupied the city in 2015, the. As a result of shelling at the city before its capture, nearly 500 civilians were killed.