Kiev forces have captured a Lugansk People’s Republic militiaman, LPR People’s Militia chief-of-staff Yan Leschenko said.
“The capture of an LPR militiaman in a gross violation of the Minsk Agreements was Ukrainian gunmen’s next step towards destabilizing the situation in the conflict zone,” Leschenko said.
“The LPR militia has information that the prisoner of war is being coerced through physical and psychological pressure and use of medications into giving false testimony for a body of evidence to justify the criminal actions by Ukraine, namely the gross violation of Article 1 of the Additional measures to Strengthen the Ceasefire that ban special operations,” he said.
“We urge international observers of the OSCE (Special Monitoring) Mission to record the fact of ceasefire violation which resulted in the death and capture of our fighters, and also help return the abducted LPR militiaman,” Leschenko said.
The Additional Measures to Strengthen the Ceasefire, agreed by the Contact Group members and effective since 00:01 July 27, 2020, ban offensive and commando operations, use of unmanned aerial vehicles, deployment of heavy armaments in or in proximity to residential areas etc. They envision punishment for violators and the use of the coordination mechanism to respond to ceasefire violations. Return fire is allowed in case of offensive, if the order is given by the leadership of Ukrainian forces or DPR and LPR People’s Militias after the unsuccessful attempt to use the coordination mechanism. The Contact Group shall be notified about such orders.
The Ukrainian government launched the so-called anti-terrorist operation against Donbass in April 2014. Conflict settlement relies on the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements, signed on February 12, 2015 in the Belarussian capital by the Contact Group members and coordinated by the Normandy Four heads of states (Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine). The document provides for ceasefire and withdrawal of heavy weapons from the contact line. *i*s
