May Day and Easter are traditional holidays, symbolizing the beginning of real spring and long-awaited warming. It is not surprising that these dates are among the most beloved for the residents of Donbass. Days that are the best suited for outdoor family picnics and recreation. For this reason, the DPR Head Denis Pushilin issued an Order to suspend the curfew on the territory of the Republic during the May holidays. Thus, according to the Order, the DPR cancelled the curfew from 23:00 on April 30 to 05:00 on May 5, as well as from 23:00 on May 7 to 05:00 on May 12.
Nevertheless, the main gift for the inhabitants of the Republic would be the so-called “Easter truce” during the May holidays. Unfortunately, these hopes, apparently, were not destined to be fulfilled through the fault of the representatives of the Ukrainian side.
The Contact Group, after a five-hour meeting, was unable to agree on the resumption of the ceasefire in Donbas. Ukraine rejected all mechanisms proposed at the TCG meeting to prevent violations of the ceasefire regime in Donbass. According to the plenipotentiary representative from the Russian Federation Boris Gryzlov:
“Instead of discussing issues on the merits, everything was aimed at ‘building tangled’ legal structures’” in order not to recognize Donbass as a side of the conflict.”
However, Ukraine’s non-recognition of the LDPR as a “side of the conflict” for some reason does not prevent them from regularly firing at these same parties, as evidenced by the data of the JCCC. Thus, observers over the past week recorded 21 cases of violation of the regime of an open-ended ceasefire by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Under shelling were such settlements as: Donetsk, Orlovka (Zaitsevo South), Veseloe, Staromikhaylovka, Leninskoe and Ukrainskoe.
The cynicism and hatred of the Ukrainian leadership are especially striking in that the shelling of peaceful territories did not stop even on the day that unites with its grief both the Republic and Ukraine – the Day of the tragedy at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
On 26 April 1986, the reactor of the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, located near the city of Pripyat, was destroyed. The accident claimed the lives and health of thousands of innocent people. Residents of almost all cities of the Ukrainian SSR, as well as the Republics of the USSR, took part in eliminating the consequences of the disaster. Including 8 thousand Donetsk residents, who spared no effort and rushed to help their fellow citizens. This feat will always serve as a reminder of the power and boundlessness of human humanism. A lesson that the current generation of Ukrainians, unfortunately, is beginning to forget…
Donbass always remembers and honours its heroes. Thus, on April 29, a memorial plaque was erected in Gorlovka in honour of the first fire crew of Donbass. According to the documents of the Russian State Historical Archives, it was there, in 1861, that the first fire crew in the region was created. Today, the employees of the DPR MES regularly continue the worthy work of their predecessors, saving lives and protecting their citizens.
Another important event in the Republic was the testing of physical fitness within the framework of the State Physical Culture and Sports Complex “Ready for Labour and Defence of the Donetsk People’s Republic”. More than 250 students of republican universities took part in the event. The RLD is a program of physical and cultural training, which is based on a unified and state-supported system of patriotic education of citizens. In order to form a sense of purpose and self-confidence in the younger generation, it was decided to hold the first stage of the RLD among students of higher educational institutions. Such programs are especially important in our difficult times, when the health of every person against the background of the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic is priceless.
Since the beginning of 2021, the Ombudsman received 1181 complaints.
All received complaints can be divided into nine categories: personal rights – 388 complaints, economic rights – 89 complaints, social rights – 249 complaints; guarantees of human rights in civil, administrative and criminal proceedings – 127 complaints; enforcement of human rights in penitentiary institutions – 47 complaints; enforcement of rights in the field of education – 9 complaints; enforcement of rights in the field of healthcare – 45 complaints; enforcement of rights of mothers, children and families – 9 complaints, issues connected with the political and military situation in DPR – 218 complaints.
The number of appeals (complaints, applications) from citizens, submitted to the Office of DPR Ombudsman as of 30.04.2021
Personal rights
Human rights guarantees in civil, administrative and criminal proceedings
Enforcement of rights in the field of healthcare
Economic rights
Enforcement of human rights in penitentiary institutions
Enforcement of rights of mothers, children and families
Social rights
Enforcement of rights in the field of education
Issues connected with the political and military situation in DPR
- Death toll, injuries to civilians and soldiers as a result of hostilities in the territory of the Donetsk People`s Republic
The DPR Ombudsman’s Office documents cases of violations of Donbas citizens’ rights by the Ukrainian side, including the right to life, personal integrity and freedom of movement.
Within the period between 24 and 30 April 2021, according to the official sources, no one was injured.
Within the period between 1 January and 30 April 2021, in the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic, 20 people sustained injuries and traumas of varying severities as a result of armed aggression by Ukraine: 14 servicemen of the Republic and 6 civilians.
Within the period between 24 and 30 April 2021, in the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic, no one died.
Within the period between 1 January and 30 April 2021, in the territory of the DPR, 22 servicemen of the Republic and 3 civilians died as a result of armed aggression by Ukraine.
It should be noted that since the armed conflict began in the Donetsk People’s Republic, 4986 people, including 91 children died.
Officially confirmed information on individuals who have been wounded since the beginning of the conflict continues to be reported to the DPR Ombudsman’s Office.
- Register of the prisoners of war, missing soldiersand civilians
As of April 30, 2021, the Ukrainian side detains about 90 people.
As of April 30, 2021, 365 people are on the list of missing persons.
- Register of displaced persons and affected citizens
At the time of armed conflict, the civilian population living in the zone of fighting and near the contact line is often affected. With the view to protect the human right to life and security of the person, and to provide assistance to victims as a result of armed aggression by Ukraine, social housing objects (dormitories, preventative clinics, health care centres).
With the coming into force of the Order of the Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic No. 137 of 24.04.2018, territorial commissions in cities and districts are now responsible for accommodating affected civilians. They work under the supervision of the Republican Commission on Resettlement of Affected Persons chaired by the DPR Human Rights Ombudsman.
There are currently 853 accommodation places in the Donetsk People’s Republic available for citizens of this category. 61 social housing objects have been opened in the territory of DPR. 53 of them operate, 8 of them are held in reserve. Since the beginning of the conflict, 9316 people, including 2118 children have been registered as persons affected as a result of the conflict. Currently, 1930 people live in social housing objects of the Donetsk People’s Republic, including 335 underage children, 7386 people live in the housing fund, including 1783 children.
