Donetsk, Oct 29 – DAN. Ukrainian authorities have denied access to a vehicle with equipment for Vodafone mobile carrier, despite the agreements reached in Minsk, said DPR acting Minister of Communications Viktor Yatsenko.

"On October 24 the Ukrainian side denied passage through its checkpoint to a vehicle carrying telecommunication equipment, sabotaging the efforts to stabilize Vodafone operation in the DPR and violating the agreements," he said.

Yatsenko said that the vehicle was delivering spares for data transmission equipment and base stations, repairs of optic cable and power supply equipment. The agreement covering the delivery was reached at the Minsk talks on October 16. The Ukrainian side promised to begin restoring Vodafone communication line outside Elenovka, damaged by saboteurs last winter, on October 18.

Vodafone operation in the DPR deteriorated in winter last year, as the line failure outside Elenovka caused the loss of Vodafone signal for three and a half months. Its operation was partially restored on April 27. Mobile signal is still patchy. *ot