Russian proxy republic leader in Donbas threatens to attack UN peacekeeper mission

Deynega underlined that “not one single man bearing a weapon will enter “LNR-controlled” territory”. When Leonardo Svidovsky, the host of Theme of the Day asked him whether UN peacekeeping forces would be considered military sabotage and reconnaissance units, Deynega replied: “They’ll be treated as “Cargo 200”. Any person who arrives with a weapon will be responsible for the consequences of such actions”. (Cargo 200 (Russian: Gruz 200) is the code word referring to casualties that were transported back to the homeland in the Soviet times. The term “Cargo 200” has acquired special significance since Russian troops invaded Eastern Ukraine. As of October 2016, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission has, despite their limited access to the conflict zone, counted more than 20 vehicles with “Cargo 200” inscriptions, used to transport bodies of Russian soldiers and mercenaries from the Donbas-Ed). Earlier, US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker said that a UN peacekeeping mission in the Donbas would not be coordinated with the “DNR” and “LNR”. In response, the “DNR” and “LNR” representatives Denis Pushilin and Vladislav Deynega said that the UN mission will be allowed to enter the Donbas only if their mandate has been endorsed in Donetsk and Luhansk. Moreover, “DNR leader” Zakharchenko believes that refusal to discuss the deployment of UN peacekeepers to the Donbas with him, as well as with “DNR” and “LNR” representatives will lead to a stalemate in talks, and Kurt Volker’s dismissal from the position of special representative of the US State Department. On November 9, The Wall Street Journal wrote that, in the near future, US authorities would seek Russia’s approval of a plan to deploy 20,000 UN peacekeepers in the Donbas. “DNR” authorities immediately protested, declaring that the number of peacekeepers was excessive.