Besides heavy weapons and mortars, the Ukrainian armed
units used weapons of IFVs, grenade launchers and small arms.
DONETSK, August 20. /TASS/. The pro-Kiev military over
the past night launched about 100 artillery shells and more than 160 mines at
territory of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the
republic’s defense authorities told the Donetsk News Agency on Saturday.
"From the evening of August 19 through to 01:00 (on
August 20), the Ukrainian side was shelling settlement Trudovskiye west of
Donetsk, Yelenovki near Dokuchayevsk, suburbs of Yasinovataya, settlements
Kominternovo and Sakhanka," the source told the agency. "On those areas
the military launched 100 artillery shells of 122mm caliber and 166
mines."
Besides heavy weapons and mortars, the Ukrainian armed
units used weapons of IFVs, grenade launchers and small arms.
Members of the Contact Group for the settlement of the
situation in the east of Ukraine at a meeting in Minsk on April 29 agreed on a
complete ceasefire in Donbass starting from midnight on April 30. It is an
eighth ceasefire agreement since the autumn of 2014. The sides however continue
accusing each other of ceasefire violations.
Kiev’s security forces in the people’s militia
responsibility zone have been repeatedly violating the truce, opening fire from
mortars and tank weapons, which had to be withdrawn in accordance with the
Minsk agreements.
The Package of Measures to fulfil the September 2014
Minsk agreements, known as Minsk-2, that was signed in Minsk on February 12,
2015, envisaged a ceasefire regime between Ukrainian government forces and
people’s militias in the self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk and Lugansk (DPR
and LPR) starting from February 15, 2015 and a subsequent withdrawal of heavy
weapons from the line of engagement. The deal also laid out a roadmap for a
lasting settlement in Ukraine, including local elections and constitutional
reform to give more autonomy to the war-torn eastern regions.
On Friday, German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Sawsan
Chebli told reporters Germany’s government considers it necessary to go ahead
with the efforts as part of the Normandy format (Russia, Ukraine, Germany,
France) to implement the Minsk peace deal on Ukraine despite all challenges.
"The talks on implementing Minsk are held at the level of experts on a
regular basis. We hold by our opinion: despite the current difficult situation
and all failures there is the need to make efforts and stay in the Normandy
format to fulfill Minsk," Chebli said.
The diplomat reminded that German Foreign Minister
Frank-Walter Steinmeier had earlier said he was not satisfied by how the deal
signed in February 2015 was implemented, namely in the security area in Donbass
and preparations for the local elections.
Source: ITAR-TASS 20-08-2016
