Maria Zakharova on Ukraine's statement on Donbass: Ukraine constantly continued shelling
Maria Zakharova. Photo: MFA Russia / Globallookpress.com
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, responded to a joint statement by the Minister of Defense and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) following the meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group on Donbass. The commentary was posted on the official website of the department.
She drew attention to the fact that measures to strengthen the ceasefire were signed by Kiev, Donetsk and Luhansk with the mediation of Russia and the OSCE and entered into force on July 27, 2020.
“All this time, Donetsk and Lugansk have observed and continue to comply with all obligations under this document and have invariably called for the same Kiev in the negotiations. In turn, Ukraine constantly evaded its implementation, continued shelling of the territory of Donbass, in September 2020, it stopped the direct interaction with Donbass provided for by the “measures” to promptly prevent shootings, ”the department representative emphasized.
Zakharova also added that at the end of September, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) Valery Zaluzhny made a statement allowing servicemen to open fire at their own discretion. As noted in the statement, this was a way out of the agreements reached.
On December 22, the head of the office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak said that all parties of the Trilateral Contact Group on Donbass agreed to return to full compliance with the ceasefire in the region. “Our months-long efforts to return to full compliance with the ceasefire have paid off,” Ermak wrote. He called the agreement “a step towards de-escalation in the east.”
