Pushilin cancels order to destroy Ukrainian army fortifications in Shumy

Donetsk, Sep 9 – DAN. Donetsk People’s Republic Head Denis Pushilin cancelled his order to destroy Ukrainian army fortifications, following the accord on a joint inspection in the Shumy settlement area, the head of state’s official website reported on Wednesday.

Kiev agreed at the extraordinary Contact Group video conference earlier in the day to an inspection of the stretch of the contact line next to the Shumy settlement outside Gorlovka where new Ukrainian army fortification had been built recently. The inspection, scheduled for 14:00, September 10, will involve representative of the DPR and Ukraine at the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination.

“Due to the fact that we finally had Ukraine agree to a joint inspection of Ukrainian positions, I  decided to cancel the order to eliminate the illegal fortifications of Ukrainian armed formations in the Shumy settlement area,” the DPR Head said.

If the inspection reveals a violation of the additional ceasefire control measures by Kiev and if Ukraine does not remedy it, the People’s Militia will destroy these positions, he said.

“I underscore again that precise and strict compliance with the accords reached in Minsk is our priority,” Pushilin said. “Nevertheless, Ukrainian representatives have to clearly understand that we are carefully monitoring the situation regarding compliance with these accords and do not intend to close our eyes to the facts of gross violations by Ukraine.”

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 that it had violated the additional ceasefire control measures.

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 taking 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

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Shumy area joint inspection to prove effectiveness of additional ceasefire control measures – JCCC

DPR, Ukraine, OSCE to carry out joint inspection in Shumy on Sep 10 – Foreign Ministry