Official says Russia will leave Donbas in 2018

Ukrainian Deputy Minister for Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons Yuriy Hrymchak has said he is confident that Russia will leave Donbas in 2018.

"According to calculations, Russia will leave Donbas in 2018... The only thing is that, in our opinion, this process was slightly delayed by the blockade [of Donbas]," he told Ukraine's Channel 5.

Hrymchak said that Ukraine's budget had not received a lot of money due to the blockade: "We had GDP growth of 2.3% in the first quarter, and the forecast was 4%. We lost 1.5% due to the blockade."

He also added: "There are suspicions that the last battle for Ukraine will probably happen in November, when [Russia] will try to use all that it has to destabilize the situation in Ukraine so as not to leave [Donbas]." 

op