Kiev forces violate ceasefire 359 times since Additional Ceasefire Control Measures came into effect a year ago - LPR Office at JCCC

  Kiev forces have fired at Lugansk People’s Republic areas 359 times since the Additional Ceasefire Control Measures came into effect a year ago, the LPR Office at the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC) reported.

“A year has passed since the date when the tighter ceasefire control measures came into effect but Ukraine, despite the statement by the Ukrainian Defence Ministry about its commitment (to the Minsk Agreements) has been violating its ceasefire obligations and ignoring the coordination mechanism agreed by the Contact Group on July 22, 2020,” the report said. “Over this period, the LPR Office at the JCCC recorded 359 strikes at the LPR territory delivered by Ukrainian armed formations.”

Zolotoye-5, Donetskiy township, Molodyozhnoye settlement and the Kalinovka, Zhelobok and Lozovoye village came under particularly massive strikes.

“On February 19, 2021, The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine adopted a secret decision to revise the scenario of actions in Donbass as the tensions mounted. After this decision, the number of strikes at the LPR sharply increased, from 23 in February 2021 to 92 in April and 87 in May,” the LPR Office 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.  The additional measures 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 comprehensive ceasefire, withdrawal of all heavy weapons from the contact line, starting a dialog on reconstruction of social and economic ties between Kiev and Donbass. It also envisages carrying out constitutional reform in Ukraine providing for decentralization and adopting permanent legislation on a special status of certain areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. *i*s