Kiev to Set Up Fund to Restore Ukraine's East

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko announced Sunday he was initiating a fund for the restoration of the infrastructure in the war-torn eastern Ukraine.

"This is the aim of my trips — to prepare a donor conference to set up a special fund. Among other funds, it will have those from the special fund of the Ukrainian budget for the restoration of infrastructure of Donbass," the president said in an interview, as quoted by Itar-Tass.

The Kiev government "will be giving money to those local authorities in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions that are legally elected," he added.

Meanwhile, Poroshenko said Kiev would allocate state funds to the Lugansk and the Donetsk regions, including those areas controlled by militias.

On September 5, the Contact Group on Ukraine (Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE) and representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's republics reached an agreement on ceasefire, troops' withdrawal, exchange of prisoners and provision of humanitarian aid in the southeastern part of the country.

On Friday, a memorandum was signed outlining the parameters for the implementation of the cease-fire commitments laid down in the Minsk Protocol of September 5, Itar-Tass notes.