Militants from the so-called Donetsk People`s Republic (DPR) fired at Ukrainian members of the monitoring group of the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC) of the Ceasefire and Stabilization of the Parties` Demarcation Line on August 20, resulting in damage to a vehicle the group was driving, according to a statement by the JCCC`s Ukrainian team leader, Major-General Borys Kremenetsky, published by the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters.
No injuries among the personnel were reported, the statement noted.
”From 4:20 p.m. until 4:45 p.m., illegal armed formations fired 15 shells of 82mm caliber in the area [near Svitlodarsk], and were attacking from anti-aircraft installation ZU-23-2 and with heavy machine guns from the area of Kalynivka in the direction of the village of Luhanske,” the ATO press center reported, citing Kremenetsky.
Further, according to Kremenetsky, the monitoring group was on a mission to collect photo evidence of violations of the ceasefire by militants, who had previously fired upon the area using 82mm and 120mm mortar shells, which are prohibited by the Minsk agreements.
Kremenetsky noted that the attack on the monitoring group can be qualified as a crime against the activity of the JCCC observers, and the incident is to be discussed during a meeting of the Trilateral contact group on the Donbas settlement in Minsk.
In addition, the attack on the JCCC Ukrainian members was immediately reported to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the JCCC has stated that armed provocations, along with propaganda carried out by DPR and LPR leaders, indicate their intention to maintain, at all costs, the escalation of the conflict in Donbas. This is also seen in numerous daily violations of the ceasefire by illegal armed groups, which have been recorded by Ukrainian JCCC members.
21 August 2016
When will people learn that Russian intentions of empire have not changed from the Tsars, Commissars, and “elected” President / Prime Minister. Only Gorbechev and Yeltsin realized that they could have greater prosperity in Russia by working with their neighbors versus trying to conquer everyone.