Donetsk, Nov 19 - DAN. Mine clearance in the Petrovskoye-Bogdanovka security zone was suspended as Ukrainian forces opened fire, the Donetsk People’s Republic Office at the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination reported.

“Today, at 12:35, Ukrainian armed formations fired towards the Petrovskoye settlement from positions in the security zone declared as abandoned by Ukraine which the OSCE confirmed in its reports dated November 13 and November 14,” the DPR Office at the JCCC said.

Mine clearance was suspended due to the unstable situation in Petrovskoye. The JCCC officers and DPR engineers had to leave the area for safety reasons. Head of the DPR Office at the JCCC Ruslan Yakubov notified an OSCE SMM patrol about the truce violation by Ukrainian troops.

October 19 is the deadline for mine clearance in the Petrovskoye-Bogdanovka security zone. It is the first stage of the demining measures approved by the Contact Group.*jk