KIEV
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Saturday signed a decree that shuts down Ukrainian government services in regions held by pro-Russian rebels.
The order covers basic services such as education, medical care and emergency services, according to a statement published on the president's official website.
The parliament is also expected to repeal the law that gives "special status" to rebel-held areas in the eastern Luhanks and Donetsk regions.
Government offices in rebel-held areas will be moved to other regions, and the officials who work there will be reassigned, Courts and judges will also be moved to new locations.
The decree will provide employment opportunities for those who have been forced to leave their jobs and homes in the rebel-held areas.
The conflict in eastern Ukraine has escalated in spite of the cease-fire agreement signed by the Ukrainian government and the pro-Russian separatists on Sept. 5 in Belarus' capital of Minsk. The agreement was intended to put an end to the conflict which has left thousands dead.
Between mid-April and Oct. 6, at least 3,600 people have died and 8,700 people have been wounded during the conflict between the Ukrainian government and the rebels, the UN Human Rights Office said in a report last month.
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