DONETSK, Ukraine — Russia-backed rebel authorities in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday started paying pensions in Russian rubles.Yekaterina Matyushchenko, the finance minister in the Donetsk region’s separatist government, said pension payments to retirees in the rebel-controlled areas will total 1.9 billion rubles (over $30 million) in March.Another rebel official, Oksana Taran, denied that Russia had provided the money, claiming that the funds came from taxes paid by local businesses. …read more
Source: Boston Herald
