The Russian authorities can no longer say that they have nothing to do with the militants in Donbas.

Ukrainian journalist Denys Kazansky has said the so-called "council of commanders" of the "Union of Donbas Volunteers," an organization in which Russian-led fighters fought for the so-called "Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics" ("LPR"/"DPR") against Ukraine, took place in Moscow on February 15.

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Russian president's aide Vladislav Surkov, who is also the supervisor of the "union," attended the meeting.

"Surkov is quite an official person, i.e. the Russian authorities can no longer say that they have nothing to do with the militants, since Surkov himself comes to their congresses and speaks there. But the main thing is not even the fact of Surkov's presence, but what his supervisees say," Kazansky wrote in a blog.

"During his speech, Alexander Boroday (who created the 'DPR' in the spring of 2014), sitting next to Surkov, openly declared the need to resume the hot phase of war in Donbas and told the terrorists' warlords that the next pretext for a new invasion of Ukraine could be elections. In case their result does not suit them, they will arrange a 'bloody mess.' Yes, he put it that way: 'it will be a bloody mess,'" the journalist said.