“…It has become a refrain of the Russian Federation to insist that the government of Ukraine must ‘engage in direct dialogue’ with ‘representatives’ of Donetsk and Luhansk.

“It is important that everybody around this table here recognizes that there is no such thing right now as ‘representatives’ of Donetsk and Luhansk. There are only representatives of the Russian Federation who are perpetrating a reign of terror in Donetsk and Luhansk.
“The reason why special local elections were first foreseen last September, before they were disrupted by Russia and their proxies, was to have legitimate representatives of Donetsk and Luhansk. And the Ukrainian government has made clear on multiple occasions, that at such time as there are free and fair local elections in specific areas of Donetsk and Luhansk, there will be engagement with those who emerge from those local elections. But I would like to repeat: there is no such thing as ‘representatives’ of Donetsk and Luhansk today. There are only representatives of the Russian Federation who act violently and illegally in Donetsk and Luhansk. …”

– U.S. Ambassador Daniel B. Baer addressing the Permanent Council of the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna on July 23.