Minsk agreed that from July 1 they will stop shooting in Donbass
On July 1, 2018, another truce timed to coincide with the harvest comes into force in Donbass.
This was reported in the press service of the DPR plenipotentiary representative at the negotiations in Minsk, Denis Pushilin, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“In connection with the upcoming harvest period, the Contact Group agreed on a comprehensive and indefinite truce, starting on July 1, 2018, 00 hours 01 minutes Kiev time,” Denis Pushilin said.
“The process of preparing this decision was quite controversial. While the majority of participants in the negotiation process understood the value of human life and were ready to implement a ceasefire, representatives of Ukraine did not express any particular desire to conclude a truce. By the end of the meeting, the negotiators managed to convince the Ukrainian side to support the decision of the Contact Group on a comprehensive, sustainable and indefinite truce from July 1, 2018,” said the permanent representative of the DPR in the negotiation process in Minsk.
In addition, Ukraine must fulfill a number of requirements of the OSCE SMM:
- a ban on shelling and firing, including return fire, especially in the direction and from populated areas;
- publishing the relevant ceasefire orders and communicating them to the military at all levels, as well as to the general public;
- a ban on any offensive and reconnaissance actions and on sniper shooting;
- a ban on the placement of heavy weapons in populated areas, as well as on targeted shelling of civilian infrastructure, including schools, kindergartens, and hospitals;
- taking appropriate measures in response to ceasefire violations, effectively applying strict disciplinary measures to violators;
- secure access for the OSCE SMM.
Minsk agreed to end the shooting in Donbass starting July 1.