On 2 July 2015, Donetsk People's Republic leader Aleksandr Zakharchenko ordered local DPR elections to be held on 18 October 2015 "in accordance with the Minsk II agreements". "DPR, LPR attempts to hold separate elections in Donbas on Oct 18 to have destructive consequences – Poroshenko", Interfax-Ukraine (2 July 2015) According to Zakharchenko this move meant that the DNR had "independently started to implement the Minsk agreements". Zakharchenko assured "the elections will take place 'on the basis of Ukraine's Law on temporary self-rule status of individual districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions' in so far as they are not at variance with the constitution and laws of the DPR". The 2015 Ukrainian local elections were set for 25 October 2015. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko responded (also on 2 July 2015) that if this Zakharchenko initiative to hold local DPR elections was upheld this would be "extremely irresponsible and will have devastating consequences for the process of deescalation of tension in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions". (On 6 July 2015 the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) leader (LPR) Igor Plotnitsky set elections for "mayors and regional heads" for 1 November 2015 in territory under his control.)