The company Ukrtelecom announced on March 1 that it will no longer provide services in the uncontrolled areas of Donetsk Region after its office in Donetsk was seized by unknown armed individuals. The company said in a release that "the operator has lost the ability to centrally manage the technical equipment in the uncontrolled territory of Donetsk region and, accordingly, the local network segment was promptly disconnected from the national network."
The disconnection of landline telephone services and Internet access affected nearly 200 thousand customers.
Ukrtelecom informed the national telecom regulator, the relevant law enforcement authorities and other operators about the situation.
The leaders of the self-proclaimed D/LPR "republics" have announced the "nationalization" from March 1 of the Ukrainian enterprises located in their territories.
In February, 2015 Ukrtelecom stopped working in Russia-annexed Crimea.