DONETSK, Feb. 3 - The leadership of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic said wage and pension payment delays could arise in 2015, given the economic siege imposed on the republic by Ukrainian authorities.

"In such a setting, cash is inevitably streaming out of the republic, leading to cash shortages, and breeding problems which, in turn, disrupt companies' operations and cause arrears in wage payments. Pensioners and socially vulnerable groups have been hit the hardest," the Donetsk republic's finance ministry told Interfax.