Opposition leader wants government to stop strangling East Ukrainians, start normalizing the situation in Donbass as per the Minsk Agreement

KIEV, April 21, (TASS) - The Opposition Bloc in the Ukrainian parliament urges Kiev to lift the economic blockade of the war-torn Donbas region, the chairman of the bloc’s parliamentary faction, Yury Boyko, said on Tuesday.

"The Opposition Bloc demands that the economic blockade should be lifted and social benefit payments should be restored under the ruling of the court that has ordered the authorities to do so," Boyko told the Verkhovna Rada.

"Ukrainian society will see who really wants peace," the lawmaker said.

The politician reminded that the Minsk agreements were signed more than two months ago but the parliament has failed to take steps to put the relevant laws into action for the sake of peace and lives of Ukrainians.

The Opposition Bloc has drafted a package of laws that are aimed at normalizing the situation in Donbas, bringing people back home and restoring the normal living conditions there, Boyko said.

"We demand that these laws should be considered as urgent and the Ukrainian society will see who really wants peace and who wants the war," the lawmaker said.

The package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements signed on February 12 says "modalities" should be defined of a full restoration of social and economic ties, including payments of pensions and other social benefits.