Zelenskiy opens rebuilt bridge in war-torn east:
By RFE/RL
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in a symbolic move that highlights efforts to rebuild Ukraine's war-torn east, has reopened a bridge in the Luhansk region that has sat in ruins the past four years.
Zelenskiy wrote on Facebook late on November 20 that the bridge will be limited in function for several days before traffic will be fully restored.
The bridge over the Siverskiy Donets river in the town of Stanytsya Luhanska, where a Kremlin-backed separatist checkpoint is located, was destroyed during clashes between the separatists and Ukraine's armed forces in 2015.
Since the bridge's destruction, local residents have been unable to visit relatives and friends and get food and medical supplies from the other side.
"I want to counter any possible manipulations right away -- tanks will not be able to pass over the bridge as it is too narrow. But an ambulance can easily pass over it. It is also possible to transport food via the bridge and it won't be difficult to walk from one side to another," Zelenskiy wrote.
Bridge repairs started in early September after demining work around the bridge had been finished.
The opening comes a week after Kyiv and the separatists said they had completed a pullback of troops and weapons from a third frontline area in eastern Ukraine.
The move is one of a series of confidence-building measures that could pave the way for a four-way summit aimed at ending the conflict in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions that has killed more than 13,000 people since April 2014.
Known as the Normandy format, the next four-way talks between Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany are scheduled to be held in Paris on December 9.
From the archives (November 21, 2013): Ukraine's East-West Dilemma Evokes Century-Old Memories
Zelenskiy names four key issues for upcoming peace summit on Donbas:
By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said he will advance four key issues during an upcoming four-way meeting with the leaders of Germany, France, and Russia on a potential peace settlement in the Donbas conflict.
While visiting the opening of a reconstructed bridge in the frontline town of Stanytsya Luhanske on November 20, Zelenskiy said the most important discussion point was conducting local and regional elections in territories that Kyiv doesn't currently control.
Holding elections "is one of the difficult ones because it has many components," he said.
"This is an opportunity to hold local elections already in the territory of Ukraine, not in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. It's the most important issue," Zelenskiy said.
The return of all Ukrainian captives is another priority as well as regaining control over its border with Russia. According to the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service, Kyiv doesn't control 409 kilometers of its eastern border with Russia.
Sealing a permanent cease-fire is paramount, Zelenskiy said, while adding that the current truce in the Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists have fought Ukrainian forces since April 2014, was "fake."
"It's, you know, temporary," he said. "For two-three days there could be no shooting and then somebody starts shooting, which over time becomes serious and we start to lose people. Therefore, we need a serious cease-fire when no shots are fired."
Zelenskiy complained that the current peace road map for the Donbas conflict, known as the Minsk accords, didn't stipulate consequences for cease-fire violations.
"I want to talk about this and achieve a result," the president said.
The four-way talks are planned for December 9 in Paris where French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to host delegations led by Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Zelenskiy.
More than 13,000 people have been killed in the Donbas war and 1.5 million more internally displaced.
Kyiv blames Moscow for commanding and controlling the militants in eastern Ukraine, which includes leading, training and fighting beside them, as well as arming them.
Russia has portrayed the war as a civil conflict between Ukrainians and denies direct involvement, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.