Donetsk, Mar 13 - DAN. Kiev forces opened fire within the Petrovskoye disengagement zone this morning, the DPR Mission to the JCCC said.

The shelling was reported at 7.25 a.m., small arms including large caliber machine guns were used.

The situation has recently deteriorated in the Petrovskoye-Bogdanovka disengagement zone. On March 10 Ukrainian forces opened fire on the area. On March 6 Ukrainian troops were seen establishing positions within the demilitarized zone.

The framework agreement on disengagement of forces in Donbass was signed in late September 2016. The objective was to disengage the warring sides to avoid the risk of clashes and shelling. The document set three pilot security areas: Petrovskoye in the DPR and Stanitsa Luganskaya and Zolotoye in the Lugansk People’s Republic. The disengagement was finalized at all the three areas by the late 2019.

The Normandy Four summit has set a goal of disengaging forces in three new areas. The talks to define coordinates of the security areas are ongoing. *ot