KYIV. Feb 2 (Interfax) - Militia units in the Donetsk region have not provided security guarantees to employees of the mobile operator Vodafone Ukraine to allow them to perform repairs to restore telecommunications services in the Donetsk region, the press service of the Ukrainian Ministry for the Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons said on Friday.
"As of February 1, 2018, guarantees of security during repair efforts in the territory of certain districts of the Donetsk region have not been received from illegal armed formations. Vodafone representatives confirm that equipment in the certain districts of the Donetsk region is not receiving power," the press service said.
"The issue of restoring mobile phone service in the certain districts of the Donetsk region was discussed at a meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk. Unfortunately, all efforts made by the Ukrainian side to restore communication with the occupied part of the Donetsk region have been blocked by illegal armed formations," it said.
In addition, the ministry demands safe access for repair brigades to the area of the village Olenivka in order to "fix technical equipment in the part of the Donetsk region not controlled by Ukrainian authorities and restore Ukrainian citizens' ability to communicate with each other."