Written by Nikolaus von Twickel
Summary
Massive rises in coronavirus infections prompted the “People’s Republics” to close schools, universities and recommend working from home where possible. The last functioning crossing point with Ukraine proper, Stanytsia Luhanska, was practically closed before being ravaged by wildfires. Border crossings with Russia, however, remained open. The separatists admitted wage arrears but offered no solution. The number of Russian passport holders is now thought to be above 280,000.
COVID-19-cases rise sharply
The “DNR” reported some 100 new coronavirus infections per day beginning on 30 September, double the previous level of some 50. On 4 October, the Donetsk health “ministry” recorded 100 new cases and 10 deaths – bringing the weekly total to a record 486 cases and 33 deaths – doubling case numbers and more than tripling fatalities of the previous week (219 cases and 8 deaths). In the week up to 18 September those figures were 171 and 19. No figures were available about the number of tests conducted.
The separatist leadership reacted by re-imposing restrictions that had been relaxed over the summer. On 25 September it imposed distant tuition in universities, one day later large outdoor gatherings were banned. On 1 October, a recommendation was issued to employers to make staff work from home as much as possible. And on 5 October, all schools were forced to begin a three-week “holiday”, according to a decree made public just one day before. Three days earlier, a deputy education “minister” had claimed that the situation in schools was “under control”.
During a meeting on 5 October, separatist leader Denis Pushilin ordered senior officials to strengthen controls over the measures and complained that people had stopped observing rules like mask wearing and social distancing. Pushilin also suggested that online learning does not work in the “DNR” when he said that school holidays were chosen to avoid home schooling.
A recommendation by the Donetsk health “ministry” made on 2 October that people stay at home and wear a mask if they had to go out because of unusually high concentrations of “dust” in the air was apparently related to wildfires, which raged throughout Donbass. On 5 October, Luhansk experienced thick smog from fires in the city’s vicinity. On 1 October, the fires destroyed much of the crossing point infrastructure in Stanztsia Luhanska, prompting its five-day closure (see below).
“LNR” brings forward school holidays
A similar situation unfolded in the “LNR”. The Luhansk health “ministry” reported 106 new cases and 8 deaths in the week up to 4 October. In the previous week there were 92 new cases and 6 deaths, almost double the figures of the week before – 53 cases and three deaths. Health “minister” Nataliya Pashchenko said on 2 October that some 12,000 people were in quarantine or under medical observation for potential infections.
The Luhansk separatists announced the closure of all schools from 5 October onward by bringing forward autumn holidays. Cinemas, universities and other children’s institutions were closed, too and restaurants and cafes ordered to remain closed before 3 pm. Pashchenko said that the respiratory disease rate among over 65 year-olds was eight times above normal and asked all elderly to stay at home. Earlier, the “government” issued recommendations that office staff should work from home.
The measures came amid unconfirmed reports that the situation in Luhansk was far worse than official claims. A video apparently recorded in an overcrowded Luhansk pneumonia hospital picked up by the Ukrainian cxid.info site on 1 October showed patients lying in corridors and sitting in staircases. There were also reports of clinic closures because of infections among medical staff. In an undated video, a man in a protective suit calls upon authorities to urgently improve funding for hospitals and staff.
There are no independent sources of information about the health situation in the “People’s Republics” and separatist officials have denied Ukrainian allegations that they are underreporting case numbers. While the sharp increase in infection numbers matches developments in Russia and Ukraine, the separatists had been lax about social distancing. On 8 September the “DNR” marked the anniversary of the re-establishment of Soviet control over Donetsk in 1943 with a concert in the city that was attended by some 70,000 people (see Newsletter 80).
“LNR” restricts crossing point before it burns down
Arguably the harshest measure was issued by separatist leader Leonid Pasechnik, who decreed on 25 September that people wanting to use the crossing point in Stanytsia Luhanska could do so only once in a month. It was not immediately clear, if this means crossing in both directions or just in one. The pedestrian-only bridge over the river Donets in Stanytsia Luhanska is the only direct connection between the “LNR” and the rest of Ukraine.
Since its re-opening in July it has served as the only permanent route into Ukraine proper because the “DNR” has kept its crossing points mostly shut and closed its “border” with the “LNR”. Donetsk separatist leader Pushilin on 22 September defended the closure of crossing points with the “LNR” with the high number of coronavirus cases there.
However, on 1 October, the crossing point was closed after wildfires destroyed some infrastructure. It opened again on 5 October. The wildfires also reached the “customs” checkpoint between both “People’s Republics” near Debaltseve, according to a video posted on 4 October.
As in past months, separatist leaders were quick to close crossing points with Ukraine, claiming that they had to prevent COVID/19 from spreading, while keeping open border crossings with Russia, where the pandemic is raging not less than in Ukraine. “LNR” health “minister” Pashchenko claimed on 29 September that there was no reason for closing the border with Russia because the COVID-situation was “alright”. “DNR” leader Pushilin made similar comments on 3 September.
Pushilin admits miners’ wage arrears
The worsening health crisis bodes ill for the ailing economy in both Donetsk and Luhansk. “DNR” leader Pushilin on 22 September again admitted that wage arrears are plaguing the coalmining sector. However, Pushilin’s only solution to the problem was to urge his coal minister to solve the issue. The topic was also brought up earlier that day in a staged “direct line” TV call-in show with Pushilin, in which he unconvincingly promised to “make the impossible happen” to achieve the survival of the mining and metals industries.
Earlier, on 19 September, Pushilin visited the Silur cable factory in Khartsyzk, where he told workers on camera that his government was trying to fix supply shortages and thanked them for “going through this together with your plant”. Tellingly, the same problem was discussed exactly one year ago, when revenue “minister” Yevgeny Lavrenov visited the factory (see Newsletter 64).
Meanwhile, there were fresh reports of labour unrest in the “DNR”. On 5 October, workers of the Yenakiive Metallurgical Factory protested outside the plant, demanding unpaid wages. Earlier, there were reports about a miners’ strike in Makiivka, Pushilin’s hometown.
Third Russian convoy for this year announced
Despite the obvious need for outside economic aid, fewer Russian convoys than any time before have arrived this year – only two, on 30 July and 27 August. “LNR” leader Leonid Pasechnik said on 1 October that a third convoy will arrive before the end of the month. In the past years these convoys arrived monthly, in 2019, ten out of twelve arrived weekly between October and December. Neither Russia nor the separatists have explained the mysterious schedule.
While the actual contents of the Russian convoys have never been proven independently, the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross continued to send aid to Donetsk and Luhansk.
Russia did, however, provide other material support. Thus, the OSCE Observer Mission stationed at the Russian border crossings in Gukovo and Donetsk reported that on 8 September a group of 17 brand-new ambulance vehicles entered Ukraine. The “DNR” claimed on 21 September that it had bought 126 communal services vehicles like tractors and bulldozers. The separatists did not say, however, how much they paid. The “DNR” also said on 10 September that it received medical equipment, including x-ray and ultrasound machines from unnamed donors in Russia’s Arctic Yamal-Nenets region.
Some 14 per cent of locals believed to have Russian passports
Meanwhile, separatist leaders continued to stress that they want “integration” with Russia and not with Ukraine.
“LNR” leader Leonid Pasechnik said on 1 October that more than 150,000 Russian passports had been issued to local inhabitants – 40,000 more than in June, when the number stood at 110,000. The latest figure for the “DNR” is from 22 August, when separatist leader Pushilin said that more than 130,000 Russian passports had been issued to inhabitants.
The combined number of newly minted Russian citizens thus stands at above 280,000. Assuming that the total population in the “People’s Republics” is well below the official 3.68 million (2.25 million in the “DNR” and 1.43 million in the “LNR”), possibly below 2 million, this would mean that some 14 per cent of the local population has accepted Russian passports. A programme initiated by President Vladimir Putin in the spring of 2019 allows holders of “republican” passports to get Russian citizenship fast-track, a decision that has been strongly criticized by Ukraine and its western allies.
An investigation published on 5 October by the Donetsk Institute of Information, based in government-controlled Sloviansk, found that just 7 per cent of the local population holds Russian passports. However, that figure is based on the August figures of 250,000 passports and the official population. The investigation also found that the rate of passport-issuing has slowed considerably this year.
Separatists meet separatists in South Ossetia
Both “republics” insisted on their little-recognized independence by sending delegations to South Ossetia on the occasion of the Georgian breakaway republic’s “Republic Day” on 18 September. Itself recognized only by Russia and a few of its allies, South Ossetia is the only territory worldwide to have recognized the “DNR” and “LNR” as independent. The tiny enclave in the South Caucasus is believed to be a vital hub enabling cash flows from Russia to the Donbass without triggering international sanctions (see Newsletter 22).
