Donetsk, Mar 13 – DAN. DPR state communications company Komtel has restored the local landline telephone service to over 180 thousand customers of former Ukrainian company Ukrtelecom, said Komtel director Dmitriy Kostyuchenko.

"As of March 13, stable landline connection was restored to 180 thousand customers who can now call to DPR numbers, this work is 100 pc complete," said Kostyuchenko.

The Minister of Communications Viktor Yatsenko said that landline calls to Russia are still unavailable, and Internet connection is restored to one third of former Ukrtelecom customers.

The launch of Komtel was announced on March 7 which replaced Ukrainian Ukrtelecom as it came into receivership. Almost all employees were accepted into the new company and received the first salary from Republican authorities. *ot