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Donetsk republic leader says Kiev prepares military offensive

The leader of Ukraine's Donetsk People's Republic said that the recent shut-down of airports in major eastern Ukrainian cities was connected to Kiev receiving military aid from the West

DONETSK, December 25. /TASS/. Alexander Zakharchenko, the leader of Ukraine's self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said Kiev is preparing a military offensive in the eat of the country.

Zakharchenko said Kiev authorities are getting ready to wreck the Minsk negotiations and start a full-on assault against the unrecognized republic. He said that the recent shut-down of airports in major eastern cities of Zaporizhia, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk was connected to Kiev receiving military aid from the West. The leader of the DPR noted that he thinks major battles are still ahead.

The three major airports in question were closed for several days in mid-December. Ukraine’s State Air Traffic Service said the airports were closed for security reasons. Some Ukrainian media reported that the airports were used to receive NATO military aid to the Ukrainian army.