Kremlin to 'restructure' its financing of the separatist republics in eastern Ukraine
The Kremlin admitted that it is "restructuring" the financing for the DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic) and LPR (Luhansk People’s Republic), but stated that it would not stop providing the separatists with "humanitarian assistance."
The Press Secretary for the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov said, "There is definitely redistribution" of funds, but this "does not mean a reduction in some areas" of financing, RBC news agancy reports.
In clarifying the question about the amount of financing for the DPR and LPR, Peskov said that he doesn’t have numbers, but "this doesn’t mean that Russia will stop providing humanitarian assistance."
The previous day it became known that the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation was instructed to exclude humanitarian aid to the so-called "separate territories" from their draft budgets for upcoming years. These "territories" are the DPR and LPR. The funds, instead, will be used to develop the infrastructure of the Crimea, Sevastopol, and the Kaliningrad regions.