The leaders criticized Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics’ decision to hold separate elections of mayors and district governors on October 18 and November 1 respectively. The rest of Ukraine is set to vote in local elections on October 25.
"Hollande and Merkel emphasized that separate elections in the breakaway territories were against the agreement and would pose a threat to the Minsk [peace] process," the German government said in a press release regarding Saturday's trilateral phone call between the two EU leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Donetsk People’s Republic leader Alexander Zakharchenko told RIA Novosti earlier in the day that Kiev had violated the Minsk agreement, hammered out in February between the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France, when it shut out east Ukrainian representatives from debates on the election law.
