Donetsk, Dec 2 – DAN. Seven officials of the Ukrainian operation task force Vostok (East), the JFO HQ and Kiev's Mission to the JCCC have been apprehended on suspicion of corruption, the DPR People's Militia said.

"Our intelligence reported that search operations were carried out on November 30 in the Vostok task force and JFO HQ, and in the 36th marine brigade and in the JCCC units in Soledar and Mariupol. Seven officials have been detained on charges of conspiracy to benefit from corruption."

The detainees were identified as chief of the command post of the 36th brigade Major Semkiv and his deputy Captain Sivko, operational duty officers of the Vostok HQ Majors Sivtsov and Gora, operational duty officer of the JFO Lieutenant Colonel Suschenko, senior of the observers group of the JCCC HQ in Mariupol Colonel Datsyuk and assistant to the head of the Ukrainian mission to the JCCC Colonel Ischenko, the latter is a suspected founder of the group.

Investigators believe that Ischenko, acting in collusion, concealed ceasefire violations committed by Ukrainian troops in exchange for rewards, while brigade commanders avoided fines for violation ceasefire without the Ministry of Defense clearance.

"Ischenko's fabricated reports were presented at the Contact Group meetings to dismiss DPR and LPR reports on violations," the DPR People's Militia said.

The Additional Measures to Strengthen the Ceasefire were signed at the Contact Group meeting on July 22 to reinforce and control the indefinite ceasefire in effect since July 21, 2019, the latest in the series of more than 20 reconfirmation and announcements of the “silence regime”. The package came into effect on July 27. *ot