THE SIXTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SIGNING OF THE MINSK AGREEMENT ON THE CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES IN EAST UKRAINE: ARCHETYPICAL APPROACH

Abstract

It was determined that the speech of the Permanent representative of Germany Christoph Heusgen was critical in relation to Russia’s actions. In particular, he reminded the Permanent Representative of Russia about the Budapest Memorandum, Moscow violated, and also stated that from the speech of the Russian representative to the United Nations, “one gets the impression that it was not Russia that invaded Ukraine, but Ukraine in Russia”. It has been proven that Leonid Kravchuk, in turn, noted that Ukraine conducted a disengagement of forces in three areas, and also initiated it in four more. Kyiv also outlined a plan for joint steps to implement the Minsk agreements. The document contains clear proposals for ways to end the conflict and is fully consistent with the spirit and letter of the agreements. It is noted, that Donbas as a territory has been developed thanks to the huge deposits of coal, which have been mined for about 200 years. Today the region is losing its mines. In the Donbas, over the entire history of mining, about a thousand shafts have been dug in 600 mines. The figures are approximate, since coal has been mined in these places for 200 years and many archives burned down in Donetsk during the last war. Before this war, about 250 mines worked in the Donbas; during the war, 150 remained, of which 70 % are located on the territory of the “DNR” and “LNR”. As a result of hostilities due to power outages, coal mining enterprises were repeatedly turned off, which led to the shutdown of water-pumping systems, in some cases led to complete flooding of mines. According to the data, to date, sewerage does not work at all in the territories not controlled by Kyiv — from Yenakiieve to Horlivka, in the Pervomaisk district, partly in Donetsk, Makiivka, Shakhtarsk, Toretsk. At the moment, 36 flooded mines are known. It has been substantiated that the Horlivka, Yenakiieve and Toretsk districts are sharply considered extremely toxic. It is here, for example, that the 2-bis mine is located, which is a closed dilapidated Mykytivskyi mercury mine. Water is being pumped out of the mine — as far as possible with the help of worn-out Soviet pumps. People around are suffering from the consequences of mercury poisoning, 30,000 tons have been received from the mine over the years.