Donetsk, Jan 16 - DAN. Despite the indefinite ceasefire and special ceasefire control measures, Ukraine has opened fire at the DPR more than 2,000 times wounding 23 civilians, Donetsk People’s Republic representative to the Contact Group talks, DPR Foreign Minister Natalia Nikonorova said on Tuesday.
“Since July 21, when the indefinite ceasefire came into force, and was strengthened by the package of additional tighter control measures, Ukrainian armed formations have shelled the DPR 2,118 times wounding 23 civilians and damaging or destroying 344 houses and 37 infrastructure facilities,” Nikonorova said. “We've never seen Ukraine investigating any of these strikes; no culprits have ever been punished.”
The list of additional measures was first proposed by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine in August 2017. Later on, it expanded based on the Republics’ recommendations. “The Republics regularly complied with all the requirements whereas Ukraine continued to shell our territory with impunity,” the DPR diplomat said.
Earlier on Tuesday Nikonorova said that Donetsk was set to seek legal status for the package of additional ceasefire control measures.
The recommitment to comprehensive, indefinite and lasting ceasefire has been formally in effect in Donbass since July 21, 2019. The truce was agreed at the Contact Group talks in Minsk on July 17. The ceasefire accord provides for punishment of ceasefire violators, forbids offensives, reconnaissance and subversive operations, and prohibits opening fire with any weapons, including sniper fire, as well as the deployment of heavy weapons in or close to residential areas, in the first place on the premises of civil infrastructure facilities such as schools, kindergartens or hospitals.*jk