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Ukrainian diplomats responded to a statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who claimed that the adoption of the Donbas reintegration law in Ukraine would be a move “toward scrapping the Minsk agreements”.

"Scrapping the Minsk agreements is non-fulfillment by Russia, by their side, of their obligations, and the ongoing aggression," a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine, Mariana Betsa, wrote on Twitter.

Read alsoRussia to "draw conclusions" from U.S. lethal aid to Ukraine - LavrovAs UNIAN reported earlier, in an interview with the Rossiya-1 TV channel, Sergei Lavrov said that the Ukrainian authorities were making a "colossal mistake" by passing a law on Donbas reintegration. “I believe that the one who will take the first step toward scrapping the Minsk agreements will make a colossal mistake. In fact, the Kyiv authorities are only one step away from this mistake, that’s if they finally accept the law on reintegration, which they now passed in the second reading. We’ll see," said Lavrov.  

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UNIAN memo. The Verkhovna Rada on January 18 passed draft law No. 7163 on special aspects of state policy to ensure Ukraine's state sovereignty in temporarily occupied areas in Donetsk and Luhansk regions (the so-called Donbas reintegration bill).

Read alsoEU comments on Ukraine’s new Donbas reintegration lawParts of Ukrainian territory where armed formations of the Russian Federation and the administration of the Russian occupation have established and exercise general effective control have been designated as temporarily occupied areas in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. 

The draft law says that activities of the armed formations of the Russian Federation and the administration of the Russian occupation in Donetsk and Luhansk regions are considered to be those that contradict international humanitarian law and are illegal, and any act issued in relation to such activity is invalid.

Read alsoPoroshenko enacts additional measures to counter Russian propagandaThe draft law states that Russia shall be held liable for moral, financial or physical damage inflicted on the State of Ukraine, government authorities and local self-government agencies, individuals and legal entities.

According to the draft law, the launch and completion of measures to ensure national security and defense, repel and deter Russia's armed aggression in Donetsk and Luhansk regions shall be enacted by separate decisions by the President of Ukraine.