Donetsk, Jul 26 - DAN. UN representatives arrived in the Mariupol area to assess the contact line situation and consider the possibility to deploy UN peacekeepers, Donetsk People's Republic Operations Command spokesman Daniil Bezsonov said on Thursday citing intelligence reports.
“UN representatives were seen working in the responsibility zone of the (Ukrainian army’s) 36th separate marines brigade in the vicinity of the Berdyanskoye settlement,” Bezsonov said. “According to our information, they are assessing the current situation in the zone of the punitive operation for the possibility to deploy a peacekeeping mission in Donbass.”
In this connection, the DPR Operations Command does not rule out an increase in provocative strikes by the Ukrainian army on the southern axis. Nine Ukrainian and foreign mass media outlets sent their journalists to the area to shoot fake scenes, he added.
On September 5, 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian Foreign Ministry to draw a draft UN Security Council resolution on deploying peacekeepers in Donbass to ensure the safety of the OSCE monitoring mission. DPR head Alexander Zakharchenko said the Republic was ready to discuss the proposal. However, Kiev considered using the UN peacekeeper mission with the view of seizing Donbass by force.*jk