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The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, has adopted presidential bill No. 9153 to amend Article 1 of the law on the special order of local self-government in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, extending the validity of the law until December 31, 2019.

Some 245 out of the 365 Members of Parliament registered in the session hall backed the relevant decision, an UNIAN correspondent reported on October 4.

The document stipulates that under the law on the special order of local self-government in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, special self-governance is temporarily introduced in certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions until December 31, 2019 inclusive, taking into account the provisions of the law on creating the necessary conditions for a peace settlement of the situation in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The list of districts, cities, towns, and villages shall be determined by the decision of the Verkhovna Rada.

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The document comes into force on the day following the day of its publication.

As UNIAN reported earlier, on October 6, 2017, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the presidential law on creating the necessary conditions for a peace settlement of the situation in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The document extended for another year the law on the special order of local self-government in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which was adopted in 2014.

On September 15, 2018, U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker said the extension of this law would help preserve EU sanctions against Russia.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on October 2 submitted bill No. 9153 to the Verkhovna Rada to extend the law on the special order of local self-government in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which is expiring on October 10, 2018.