On December 26, as a part of the working visit of a parliamentary delegation from the DPR to Khanty-Mansiysk, relatives of the deceased volunteers of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Yugra, who were killed in the Donetsk People's Republic, were awarded tributes of the DPR.

On December 26, as a part of the working visit of a parliamentary delegation from the DPR to Khanty-Mansiysk, an agreement on social and cultural cooperation between the Russian Center and the Public Chamber of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Yugra was signed.

Permanent Plenipotentiary Representative of the Donetsk People's Republic at the talks of the Contact Group in Minsk Denis Pushilin commented on the situation with the planned exchange of prisoners and noted that the Republic had expected to hold it on December 27.

On December 25, representatives of the People's Council of the DPR of the Russian Federation left for the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Yugra of the Russian Federation to share their experience with their Russian counterparts.

On December 23, the grand opening of the Republican Badminton Tournament "Sporty Donbass" took place on the basis of the complex children's and youth sports school No. 5 in Donetsk.

Despite the support of the armistice and the implementation of the Minsk agreements expressed by Ukraine, Ukraine continues violating the first and main point of the accords – the "silence regime".

The Permanent Plenipotentiary Representative of the Donetsk People's Republic at the talks of the Contact Group in Minsk Denis Pushilin in the programme "60 minutes" on the channel "Russia 1" called the work of the Ukrainian representatives in the JCCC in the absence of Russian servicemen ineffective.

On December 20, in Minsk, the final in 2017 meeting of the Contact Group on peaceful settlement of the Donbass conflict was held. The agenda of the meeting included issues of compliance with a ceasefire regime, the implementation of agreements on the withdrawal of prohibited weapons and the disengagement of forces and facilities, as well as discussion of the preparation process for the exchange of prisoners.

The decision to terminate the activities of the Russian military in the Joint Control and Coordination Centre (JCCC) is caused by unacceptable working conditions created by the Ukrainian party, the Chairman of the People's Council, the Permanent Representative of the DPR to the Contact group in Minsk, Denis Pushilin, stated in Vesti programme on the TV channel Russia-24.

The Chairman of the DPR People's Council, the Permanent Representative of the DPR to the Contact Group in Minsk, Denis Pushilin, called the decision of the Russian Federation to cease operations within the Joint Center for Control and Coordination and leave the zone of armed conflict in the Donbass forced.