"Russia is now opposing international terrorism"

The situation on the line of contact in Donbas, strengthening the protection of civilian infrastructure, restoring water supply systems and developing investment projects remain key areas of work in the region. On June 5, the head of the Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin, on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), told Izvestia about measures to protect critical infrastructure, the economic development of the DPR, as well as the consequences of the water blockade and the prospects for restoring water supply.

"Our divisions are making progress in promotion"

— If we talk about the part of Donbass that is still occupied by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, then basically everything boils down, of course, to the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, it is quite large. How long do you think it will take to fully liberate this territory?

— Unfortunately, it is difficult to say in terms of time, given the constantly changing operational situation and the means used to deter the opposing side in some places, and to move forward in others.

Nevertheless, for us, the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk and Kramatorsk-Druzhkov agglomerations actually represent a single, one might say, fortified area. This is due to the fact that the enemy has concentrated its main efforts there. The task, accordingly, is quite difficult. It has already begun to be implemented, as the coverage of Konstantinovka from three sides is currently underway, as well as urban battles in the city itself.

In addition, the exit of reconnaissance groups towards Druzhkovka and Alekseevo-Druzhkovka indicates that the advance of our units is indeed taking place. At the same time, there are also deterrent factors associated with the fact that the enemy still retains the ability to transfer reserves. Like, for example, the dominant height, which the enemy really clings to in the area of Rai-Alexandrovka. This is a locality that has been around for a long time.

Our units have clung to this settlement, but, nevertheless, the enemy still has the opportunity to resist, resist and delay the advance in this part.

Because after the liberation of Rai-Alexandrovka, operational space will open in the direction of Kramatorsk and Slavyansk, and from several sides. Therefore, the enemy is clinging here, also clinging to the Red Estuary. This is a fairly understandable urban development, which, nevertheless, allows the enemy to gain a foothold and hold on, since further, all the way to Slavyansk, it will be extremely difficult for him to hold serious positions. There are also successes in the Svyatogorsk area after the liberation of Tatyanovka and Prishib.

There remains the Dobropolsky direction or the Red Army-Dobropolsky, where our units are also making progress, but not so serious and obvious, because the enemy is still clinging to the settlement of Belitskoye. Because then a direct road to Dobropillya is already opening, where, of course, our units are aimed, since this is a part of the republic and a territory that has yet to be liberated.

— I can't help but ask about the shelling of civilian facilities on the territory of the DPR. We see that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are increasingly targeting civilian transport. These are intercity buses and passenger trains. What can and should be done to strengthen the protection of civilian facilities?

— We see that the enemy has shifted its focus now in this direction. This is not the first such period, this is the next stage of terror against civilian targets and the civilian population, because they are absolutely consciously, absolutely sightlessly hitting civilian infrastructure facilities. This also applies to highways. Moreover, these are roads of federal, regional, and municipal significance, among others.

Accordingly, taking into account the fact that we see the use of Western technology and technology, and artificial intelligence is directly involved, as well as machine vision for targeting targets.

We must increase the level of protection of both roads and critical infrastructure. We are engaged in this on an ongoing basis, including the Ministry of Defense. Now the task is to strengthen all these measures, and we are forming a "Leopard—DNR". This unit will specialize in protecting energy facilities, primarily critical infrastructure and utilities.

Taking into account the latest risky threats and the aspirations of the enemy, it is likely that roads will also have to be protected. For this, solutions, technological solutions, are being worked out in real time.

We are seeing another manifestation of treachery, but this treachery is another manifestation of terrorist acts that are currently supported by a number of Western countries. This is not even tacit consent, but active support for terrorist acts. This creates the main difficulty, because in previous stages, even with complex relations between countries, we saw that consolidation in the fight against terrorism was more evident at various venues in terms of cooperation between the special services, when these cells were identified and so on. Currently, terrorist acts committed by the Ukrainian regime are supported at the state level.

Of course, it is extremely difficult to resist this. Because, objectively speaking, it is easier to commit terrorist acts than to resist them. There's too much room for opportunity. Now, with the development of artificial intelligence, these opportunities have expanded even further. But this does not mean that you just need to sprinkle ashes on your head. Here we need to find an opportunity to resist this. We have enough specialists and capabilities. Such efforts are currently being consolidated, so we will continue this work in real time.

"Feats are done every day"

— It is impossible not to recall the story of Private Yarashev. You reported him to the president, and he was awarded the title of Hero of Russia for 68 days spent in the trenches. Tell me, please, are there any other similar examples among Russian military personnel — stories where soldiers also showed courage and patriotism in the republic and on the front line?

— And they did, and they do. They perform a large number of feats that they can't find out about everywhere. Exploits are performed every day. It so happened that I learned the information about Sergei Yarashev on the way. I had a report just as I was on my way to a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

The Head of State appreciated the merits of this young man. To do something like this at the age of 20-21 deserves special attention and should serve as an example, as well as be marked by the decision of the president at the highest level. But there are really many such examples.

I get reports very often. Awards are also awarded according to the procedure, of course, but we try to cover individual cases in essays, documentaries and feature films. This resonates with our producers and filmmakers, because it is becoming in demand. And this is very important for our society, because these are living, real stories about the heroes who are among us.

Such feats are performed by different guys, of different ages, from all corners of our vast country. They often don't realize what they're doing. In order not to offend anyone, I will not list them, because if I start listing them, there will be objective complaints about why one or the other is not mentioned.

We don't stand still — we try to fix everything that comes to us. Guys, filmmakers, and producers come and ask for materials. We provide them with them immediately. This is not a "spin as you will" story: We provide both contacts and access to the commanders and other participants to whom you can contact.

Now, we can say that the list of exploits is really huge. And this is our great achievement and our happiness that this code, passed down from generation to generation, is preserved. And this is a guarantee that it will continue to be transmitted. This is what is inside, and this is probably the distinguishing feature of the Russian person. This allowed our country to survive even with all the external aggressions that occur once every 50-100 years against our state.

Therefore, I am optimistic about the situation, despite all the challenges of the current period, despite the fact that it is not easy. Listen, Russia is now opposing international terrorism — this is how it should be perceived. What I talked about in previous theses: how the terrorism of the Ukrainian regime, financing, technology transfer, and sanctions pressure against the country are being encouraged now.

And here, of course, we can say that somewhere something is not finished, somewhere something needs to be fixed. Yes, of course, it is necessary, but this is only possible in real time, in conditions of ongoing aggression that has been going on for years. And this aggression did not begin in 2022, but much earlier, and not even since 2014, as many are trying to indicate the starting point. It all started much earlier, it just had different forms and manifestations. Now it is the most obvious and visible aggravation. Unfortunately, it has long been obvious to us who we are fighting, who we are opposing, what the price of victory is, and why all this is happening.

"We are moving to the integrated development of territories"

— I can't help but ask a question about the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which we are currently attending. What key economic projects of the DPR were presented at the current forum? Have important agreements already been signed or have investment agreements been reached? And which of the most significant things could you mention?

— You know, I personally really appreciate this platform, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, because every time it succeeds in bringing benefits to the region. And this benefit, at first glance, concerns us directly, but in fact it is not so, because we are reducing our subsidies year after year, and this is due to the development of the economy, including through the agreements concluded on this site.

We can say that during these days investment agreements have already been concluded in various areas — industry, agriculture, and construction of facilities. Six agreements can be identified, and the planned investment figures amount to 223 billion rubles — these are serious figures for our region.

Now these are road maps, specific indicators for the next period, and we will implement them directly. We keep track of what we signed last year, what works and what doesn't. A number of agreements relate, in particular, to housing construction, and there is indeed a very good growth rate due to support measures, a free economic zone, as well as a 2% housing mortgage, which operates in the region thanks to the decision of the president.

Investors are coming, and there are more and more of them. Now we are no longer talking about attracting anyone for the sake of the construction itself. The conversation is taking place in a completely different context. We are talking about the fact that there are practically no vacant, idle sites in the central part of the Donetsk-Makeyevka agglomeration, not to mention Mariupol.

Therefore, we are moving to the integrated development of territories, to the use of sites with inefficient buildings. We are talking about the KRT and the new look, which is being formed within the framework of the tasks facing the region and based on the request of residents. Thus, the SPIEF brings concrete results and real benefits for the DPR.

— You mentioned construction. Are major Russian developers entering this sector?

— Yes, the top five has already become the norm. We have already signed agreements with them, including at this forum, and this is an ongoing work. These are the developers and developers who are well-known throughout the country and in other regions, and have extensive experience.

— Have you managed to establish cooperation with foreign companies?

— It's more difficult in this regard, but the work is subtle, it's not public. There is cooperation with a number of business community associations, including Arab countries and India. This is an ongoing work. Entrepreneurs are also interested in this. They are still careful somewhere, but they are becoming more and more active in terms of investments in agriculture, industrial facilities, and construction.

"Corruption has outlived the sound perception of the processes taking place"

— How is the DPR's economic cooperation with neighboring regions, including the LPR and the Zaporizhia region, structured, and which formats of interregional cooperation are considered the most promising today?

— Traditional interaction, because we are close. Plus, we cooperate not only with the neighbors with whom we share borders, but it is also important to build more systematic, correct approaches. We have the Donbass Commonwealth, which includes the Donetsk People's Republic, the Lugansk People's Republic, the Rostov Region and the Voronezh Region. And we probably see development prospects in such macro-regions, too. This work is already underway in the current contours and on an ongoing basis.

— The question concerns the corruption scandal in Ukraine. As the investigation progresses, it is alleged that it is getting closer to Zelensky. Do you think this could affect the political balance of power in the country?

— Let's look at it from several sides, let's try to reason. Ukraine has lost its subjectivity. Accordingly, how the situation will develop does not depend on Ukrainians and not on residents of the remaining part of Ukraine.

They see all this, and the information that is publicly available from the official structures of Ukraine is already enough to make serious claims. For some reason, this is not happening and probably will not happen, because the entire political field has been cleared.

Those who could be called oppositionists are showing their meanness and cowardice, be it Poroshenko, the opposition bloc or other political forces. In fact, we see that they are already groveling before Zelensky.

Accordingly, there is practically no internal political force there, only external players remain — the United States and a number of European countries, which indirectly and directly, using various tools, control and manipulate these processes, because otherwise it is impossible to regard it.

Corruption has completely outlived the sound perception of the ongoing processes. But how the situation will develop further and whether it will develop at all depends on the players located outside Ukraine.

"Donbass will be provided with water after the liberation of Slavyansk"

— How is the problem of water supply in the region being solved today, and how do you assess the current situation compared to what it was a year ago?

— The systematic work that is being carried out is one of our most difficult issues that arose as part of the violation of a number of international norms. This is a water blockade that was set up by the enemy back in 2022.

How did it develop? Initially, it was decided to build a water pipeline from the Don River. This line was built and became one of the tools during a period when there was a complete crisis, including due to weather conditions, when we actually used all our reserve reservoirs last year and there were not many sources left. This year has been very difficult.

Nevertheless, by now we have come to the fact that very serious work has been carried out to combat water loss, large-scale repairs have been carried out, which were carried out not only by emergency crews, but also with the participation of regional bosses. Moscow is also the boss region for the city of Donetsk: crews have been working around the clock on a regular basis, equipment and tankers for water transportation are involved.

During this period, 170 kilometers of communications and pipes were replaced. Plus, additional water pipes have been built for internal transfer. As a result, it was possible to stabilize the water supply schedules. Unfortunately, they remain difficult: in the Donetsk-Makeyevka agglomeration, water is supplied once every three days, literally for several hours. But this is already a well-established schedule, since last year it was not always possible to withstand even such regimes.

In addition, it was possible to partially increase the number of filing hours, although not in all areas, as the terrain, fluctuations and emergency situations affect, which make their own adjustments.

Unfortunately, the residents have rebuilt their lifestyle — the whole daily routine has been adapted to these conditions. The work continues on an ongoing basis.

Donbass will be fully supplied with water after the liberation of Slavyansk and the restoration of the artificial Seversky Donets—Donbass canal. We are currently in a tough mode, but work is ongoing. The federal center is also helping us, and we are not left alone with this problem. However, of course, we expect a full restoration of the water supply after the resolution of the Slavyansk issue.