Donetsk, Sep 10 - DAN. Kiev derailed the joint inspection by representatives of the Donetsk People’s Republic and Ukraine at the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC) in the Shumy settlement area outside Gorlovka, the DPR Office at the JCCC reported on Thursday.
“The joint inspection of the real situation concerning the violation by Ukrainian armed formations of Item 1 of the additional ceasefire control measures in the Shumy settlement area was derailed through Ukraine’s fault,” the DPR Office said in a statement. “Ukraine voiced last minute requirements which were impossible to meet.”
Ukraine demanded that the inspection participant from the DPR Ruslan Yakubov, who is head of the DPR Office at the JCCC show a negative COVID-19 PCR test result certificate and Russian or Ukrainian passport, and that he have no abbreviation “DPR” on his insignia or IDs.
“In addition, Ukraine has not confirmed its consent to the inspection of the main location, mandatory for joint monitoring, where the construction of fortification, trenching and other engineering works by Ukrainian armed formations had been observed. Therefore, Ukraine again found a pretext for not fulfilling the accords, showing its inability and unwillingness to follow the letter of the Minsk Agreements,” the DPR Office said.
The DPR authorities planned an operation on September 9 to eliminate Ukrainian army fortifications outside Gorlovka. Donetsk repeatedly said that the People’s Militia had to resort to such measures because Kiev refused to acknowledge its violations of additional ceasefire control measures. The Contact Group decided at its extraordinary videoconference on September 9 to carry out a joint inspection with the view of remedying the violations. Following this decision, the order to destroy the fortifications was cancelled.
The demands that Kiev remedy the violations were first issued in Donetsk on August 28. During the operation of additional ceasefire control measures, Ukrainian servicemen installed new fortifications advancing them towards the Seversky Donets-Donbass water duct arc, a key water supply line in the region, with the view of gaining a foothold there.
The package of tighter ceasefire control measures came into force in Donbass on July 27, 2020. The document bans the use of any weapons, deployment of hardware, special operations, engineer works and flights of unmanned aerial vehicles.*jk