Written by Nikolaus von Twickel
Summary
While the number of coronavirus cases has been steadily rising, the first protest against the economic fallout broke out in a coalmine controlled by the Luhansk separatists. A videoconference of the Normandy Four Foreign Ministers brought no progress.
Number of COVID-19 cases keeps rising
As of 5 May, the separatist Health “Ministries” reported 295 infections and five deaths with the coronavirus – 162, including one death, in the “LNR” and 133, including four deaths, in the “DNR”. These figures are relatively small – assuming a joint population of 2.5 million they amount to 12 cases per 100,000 people (for Russia this figure is 106, for Ukraine it is 30) – but questions remain both about the amount of testing and the de-facto authorities’ honesty.
The separatists have admitted that their test kits come from Russia – the “DNR” had said on 16 April that it carried out more than 700 tests since 13 March and that the kits were from the state-run Vector Institute in Novosibirsk. The “LNR” said on 24 April that it receives its tests as humanitarian aid from Russia and that it currently has 1,100 kits. The Luhansk separatists added that they only have one laboratory to do the testing.
The quality of the Russian tests was thrown into doubt when Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on 30 April that up to half of the tests among severely sick COVID-19-patients were negative. Ukrainian officials also doubt that the separatists’ numbers are trustworthy. Volodymyr Kravchenko, the commander of the military operation in Donbass, said in an interview published on 30 April that to his information there are more than 400 cases, many of which were falsely qualified as pneumonia.
Apart from the numbers, there were many signs of poor medical conditions in the “People’s Republics”. Thus, the “LNR” said on 5 May that an otolaryngologist had died of COIVD-19 after treating patients in his native town of Pervomaisk. The frontline settlement has been identified as a hotspot for coronavirus outbreaks with at least 49 infections. Earlier, the
”LNR” said that it had closed a clinic in Luhansk after a spike of infections there. The “DNR” said on 16 April that prosecutors were investigating a doctor for causing a massive spread of the disease. According to a Ukrainian media report, the doctor was an ophthalmologist from Makiivka who despite quarantine rules went back to work after she returned from a holiday in Spain in March.
The separatists also tried to link COVID-19 with the government forces. The “DNR” claimed that one prisoner released by Ukraine during the 16 April swap and a Ukrainian soldier who switched sides had tested positive for the virus. Both Donetsk and Luhansk military spokespeople routinely claim massive infections among Ukrainian servicemen. It should be noted, however, that the separatist-controlled media did not promote any conspiracy theories about the origin of the pandemic. In the past years, the “DNR” and pro-Russian outlets in Ukraine have peddled an (unfounded) theory that a US-sponsored laboratory in Kharkiv was developing biological weapons. While this theory was brought up in April by a pro-Russian Rada deputy, it did not make it into the main separatist outlets – even after it was mentioned by a “DNR” military spokesman on 25 April.
Coronavirus as a pretext for restrictions
On 4 May the Donetsk separatist “Parliament” introduced fines of up to 20,000 roubles (245 euros and twice a monthly average wage) for people who do not comply with quarantine rules. The separatists also began using the coronavirus crisis as a pretext for more restrictions. Thus, “DNR” legislators on 4 May passed laws that threaten up to five years in prison for spreading fake news about COVID-19. Similar practices in Russia were criticized earlier by the OSCE’s Representative on Freedom in the Media, Harlem Desir.
Meanwhile, the separatists also continued to deny passage to the Monitors of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE). Members of the OSCE Mission have been denied passage through the “Contact Line” in either direction since late March on the pretext of the quarantine measures. The Mission has said that it introduced “stringent mitigation measures”, including social distancing rules, daily temperature checks and the use of protection equipment in order to continue to carry out its mandate.
Despite having introduced the obstacles to the OSCE’s work, the separatists complained on 30 April that they noticed a drastic reduction in the Mission’s activity and that this was a negative sign.
Normandy Ministers reiterate previous positions
The complaint came after a videoconference of the Foreign Ministers of the Normandy Four countries Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France. Speaking after the 30 April talk, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned that coronavirus was “being used as a fig leaf” to obstruct the peace process.
The four Ministers reiterated that the main points agreed at the Normandy Four summit in December in Paris – the opening of new crossing points, more disengagement of troops and a lasting ceasefire – have not been implemented. Their implementation is seen as a condition for another summit, which was originally planned for April.
For the separatists, “DNR” Foreign “Minister” Natalia Nikonorova said that it was good that all sides agreed that they want to implement the previously agreed points.
Desperate miners strike in the “LNR”
Meanwhile, a six-day strike in an “LNR”-controlled coal mine highlighted the tenuous relationship between separatist leaders and workers in what remains a key economic sector. Some 40 miners of the Nikanor-Novaya mine in Sorynsk went on strike on 29 April, shortly after the Luhansk separatists announced that unprofitable mines will be closed (see Newsletter 74). Nikanor-Novaya is among five pits earmarked for closure, according to the Eastern Human Rights Group. However, the workers demanded first and foremost to be paid and complained about many months of wage arrears.
On 1 May, separatist “Prime Minister” Sergei Kozlov visited the mine and engaged relatives in a 20-minute long talk, according to a video uploaded on Youtube. However, he failed to convince them – apparently offering only severance payments – and was seen awkwardly walking away while being followed by angry women and children. The strike ended late on 4 May, when Energy “Minister” Pavel Malgin promised that all outstanding payments would be made by 25 May.
Tellingly, the strike was mentioned nowhere in the “LNR” media, which had already hardly mentioned the coal sector’s reorganization. The last time the official LITs outlet mentioned the Sorynsk mine was in December. A search on the “government” website also brought no results for this year.
