Speaking at a meeting with unidentified "representatives" of numerous provinces that are controlled by Kyiv, he suggested that the idea is for Malorossia to assume the mantle of Ukraine, which the declaration asserted "has revealed itself as a failed state.
Another Donetsk separatist leader, Aleksandr Timofeyev, read out a so-called "Constitutional Act" that said participants at the meeting "agree that the new state will be called Malorossia, because the very name Ukraine has discredited itself. Another tsarist-era term for parts of Ukraine, Novorossia -- New Russia -- was sometimes used by separatists and Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, around the time that Russia was fomenting separatism in Ukraine.
Use of the term added to concerns in Kyiv and the West that Russia would seek to take control over large portions of eastern and southern Ukraine, and might try to annex the area or create a new state beholden to Moscow. But talk of Novorossia faded after a few months, as Kyiv's forces held the Russia-backed separatists to territory covering parts of Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia has not formally recognized the self-proclaimed separatist entities in Ukraine as independent, and Moscow's stated position is that they should be part of Ukraine.
Analysts say Russia hopes to continue to use them as long as it can to destabilize Ukraine and maintain pressure on its pro-Western government. But Poroshenko suggested the initiative was part of a Russian effort to break Ukraine into pieces and said it would not succeed. Poroshenko said that Zakharchenko and Luhansk separatist leader Igor Plotnitsky are "not political figures but a puppet show that transmits messages received from Russia.
Plotnitsky's press service, meanwhile, said the Luhansk leadership had not even been invited to discuss the new initiative and that they support the Minsk peace process, in which Western governments are still pushing for an end to the war in eastern Ukraine. In they were merged to form Little Russia gubernia excluding Kyiv , which in was divided into Poltava gubernia and Chernihiv gubernia.
The official terms Little Russia Malorossiia , Little Russian malorusskii , and Little Russians malorossy were used for Russian-ruled Ukraine and its inhabitants only in the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century. Ukrainians living outside the Russian Empire were also called Little Russians. But the name Ukraine was also quite widely used in Russian scientific and literary publications. The name Little Russia was sometimes restricted only to Left-Bank Ukraine within the limits of Poltava gubernia, Kharkiv gubernia , and Chernihiv gubernia.
Under the proposal, Malorossiya would cover the entire area of Ukraine, while the capital would be moved from Kiev to the insurgent bastion of Donetsk. Kiev would be reduced to a "historical and cultural center. The Donetsk rebels have repeatedly expressed their intentions to join Russia. The Kremlin, however, has stopped short of annexing the area - as it did in Crimea - and denies propping up rebel groups with military support , despite overwhelming evidence suggesting otherwise.
The notion of a "Little Russia," casts any hope of a ceasefire deal into doubt. Ukraine's pro-western president, Petro Poroshenko, responded by vowing to restore Ukrainian sovereignty to the insurgent-held areas of Donbas and Crimea. Poroshenko described Zakharchenko as part of "a puppet show", with Russia pulling his strings in order to relay a message.
Since Ukraine ousted its pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych , in amid mass protests calling for closer ties with the West, pro-western security forces have been locked in a battle with pro-Moscow rebels who took control of parts of the east. Fighting to date has cost some 10, lives. Read more: Rex Tillerson has sharp words for Moscow during Ukraine visit. The Minsk accord , a ceasefire deal brokered by Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France, has hit a wall with clashes continuing along the frontlines.
All sides have called for a restart in talks but progress continues to stall. Visit the new DW website Take a look at the beta version of dw. Go to the new dw. More info OK. Wrong language?
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