Aleksandr Zakharchenko, the so-called leader of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People’s Republic," claimed that after Ukraine’s independence a foreign ideology was imposed on its citizens. Speaking at the so-called First Youth Socio-Political Forum of "DPR," he said that it is important to teach children "traditional values."
According to Zakharchenko, Ukrainians were "oppressed" and "told" that Coca-cola is better than Baikal, a soft drink first produced in the USSR, or that Mickey Mouse is more interesting than Mouse depicted in a Soviet era cartoon.
"If we were once raised on such basic concepts as family, loyalty, brotherhood, love for the motherland, now we understand that we are raised on Coca-Cola, Mickey Mouse, jeans, and so on, on Playboy, on a democracy that implies that the family could have two dads or two moms," he said. "This is absolutely unacceptable."
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (click to enlarge):
Russia won’t negotiate the return of annexed Crimea to Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at his annual press-conference in Moscow.
"We have nothing to return, we aren’t discussing Crimea’s return with anybody. Crimea is Russia’s territory in full accordance with the will of the peoples of Crimea," he said.
Last week Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced the launch of Geneva Plus, an international format that envisages a number of steps aimed at Crimea’s return to Ukraine. Sanctions, international pressure, release of illegally detained Ukrainians and judicial protection of Ukraine’s interests in international courts are among the proposed measures.
Poroshenko said that Ukraine’s position is that "the peninsula is and will be Ukrainian" and the country "takes steps to deoccupy it."