In retaliation for the weekend election in the breakaway eastern oblasts of Donetsk and Luhansk, Ukrainian Premier Arseniy Yatsenyuk has announced the government is going to withhold financial payments from easterners, including pensions from retirees and local government salaries.
Yatsenyuk insisted that the pensions would be resumed only if those elected in the eastern votes unconditionally surrendered themselves and their territory back to central government rule.
“To pay today is to directly finance terrorism,” Yatsenyuk added, saying that the Ukrainian gas monopoly would not cut off natural gas to avoid “humanitarian catastrophe.”
The move is a risky one, and could drive the east further toward secession, as many had argued the pensions and salaries in the Russian Federation, much larger than those paid by Ukraine, as a reason to secede and seek accession into the federation.
There has been no response to the announcement from eastern leaders, though the dominant faction in the weekend vote has sought secession without accession into Russia, talking of creating a state out of the oblasts that would be a net energy exporter.
Very classy Mr. Yuk.
Yet another brilliant idea from the complete f**king morons in Washington. And after the Americans people just replaced one load of cfms with another load of cfms, I don't see any prospect for anything but the most baby-like behaviour in the future.
People living in the east have paid for their pension all life long.They have right to this money.Kiev governement is just robbing old people.
Um, no. Ukraine has only been an independent country for 20 years. Its retirement age is 60 for men, 55 for women. So assuming that a Ukrainian started working at 20 years old, a man retiring right now has at most paid in for half his working life and anyone already retired for less than that. Before that, he was part of the Soviet pension plan. Does Russia owe him money?
Seceding may have benefits, but it will also have costs. If that retiree in Donetsk doesn't want to have anything to do with the Ukrainian government, he doesn't want to have anything to do with the Ukrainian government. Including getting a monthly check from the Ukrainian government.
Then it means recognition of the status of Donbass region
That and it also shows that "cross-generational" pension payment plans in lieu of actual savings are not plans; they are cheap governmental promises that can evaporate or be amended at any moment.
I guess Yats needs the money though.
Yes, agreed. This in fact means that Kiev recognized the independence of the regions. I know that the many times over bankrupt country is motivated by money savings to do this — but, in reality, all that remains is for Russia to recognize not only the elections, but also the independence of these regions. It will have to include them into their wellfare support anyway. Russia is alrady feeding them, housing refugees, providing health care, repairing water and heating systems that Ukrainian bombings took out. Kiev announcement is just a step in the direction of independence. Russia did not ask for it — Ukraine is pushing the people out.
Ukraine was a sovereign Soviet socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union from its inception in 1922 to its breakup in 1991. While it was certainly dominated politically and economically by Russia, it was a separate state that controlled its own pensions independent of Russia and, therefore, pensions earned did not start only after independence.
Absolutely right! Pensions were part of the old 'socialist' system inherited by Ukraine. New EUkraine wants to take on more modern, free market ideas – which means getting away from 'socialism'. And what a great place to start.
Those 'socialist' pensions have been increased in Russia (which inherited them too) since 1992, but not in Ukraine – where somebodies apparently 'stole' all the money.
Watch out people — An Empire can only destroy things
A fascist coup democracy, what a waste of humanity. For Empire USA has a most inefficient militarized economy that must constantly be expanding or go bankrupt, but can only expand over the crumbled remains of the nations it destroys, hence a pathetic Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine.
The idea is to get people to leave the occupied area so that they can claim their pensions. The claim that pensions and salaries are much better in Russia sounds like neocon propaganda obtained by manipulating statistics. It´s very easy for Ukrainians to emigrate to Russia, so if salaries and pensions were really that good, the supposedly "pro-Russian" people of the occupied area would have gone there long ago instead of fighting to hang on a few rundown old coal mines!
Seriously, do you know what you are talking about? People do not leave their homes that easily — you may belong to those people without roots who do not understand this. Slavic people are very much tied to their homeland, irrespective who rules it. They have been ruled by many a tyranny before, but they love their groves, woods, streams and forrests — and are not likely to leave it. And even after fleeing to save lives, they come back. Yes, salaries and pensions are MUCH HIGHER in Russia then in Ukraine, and there are millions of Ukrainans living in Russia. But depriving people of income will not change how they feel towards the nazi government in Kiev. Now even more nazi after bizzare "elections" then before. If Russia takes over the regions, the productive capacities will be put to real use, unlike in Ukraine ever since it split from Soviet Union. If that is what takes to stop the bloodshed, that would be money well spent. And if you are among those deluded by mainstream press that Russia cannot afford it, think outside of your neocon world. You are one of them, as just like them, you do not understand what does it mean having roots, having a country. Like all neocon Trotskyites — you see the world as your banking oyster, without roots, and forever roothless. But when fancy scripts backfire, neocons will turn from roothless to toothless. And cry how the world is unjust!
This may be news to you but I hear a few 100'000 have gone eastwards, but I never hear of many going westwards. I wonder why.
I'm waiting for a 'slav'Eukrainia" here.
Real Ukrainians wold gladly give up their pensions to save the Motherland. If anybody asked them.
Which, I understand, will be happening shortly – when the EU 'austerity' rules to qualify EUkraine for it's debt-servicing loans kick-in.
You could visualize the pensioners buying kalashnikov rounds for the kids to shoot at the gallant liberators from the west. Maybe they'd save up together and refurb an APC or even a captured tank! Have "A gift from the pensioners of ____" painted on the side, like grandpa used to fight Germans.
I guess they won't be getting their back pensions owed since when … January? Oh well, neither did the pensioners of 'liberated' Slavyansk …. although they did get two loaves of bread and a victory sausage.
So now we have the Kiev junta planning to starve old people in the east because easterners don't want to live under a bunch of violent thugs. Anyone want to take a guess what the odds of the Great Humanitarians in the West and their whores in the "media" even mentioning this is, much less condemning it? Probably less than zero.