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Ukraine’s General Staff: no reasons for military action or martial law

If the militia breaches systematically the ceasefire regimen, "our decisions will depend on the current situation, and the decisions would be adequate," speaker of the General Staff said

KIEV, February 15. /TASS/. There are no reasons for resuming the big military actions in the zone of the punitive mission or for introducing the martial law in Ukraine, acting speaker of the General Staff Vladislav Seleznev told a briefing on Sunday.

"What was happening last night was provocative firing, which was not systematic and was local. Out of ten firings last night, nine were around Debaltsevo," he said, adding the military will respond with fire in case of "clear attack" or firing at their positions as well as in cases of firing at civilians.

Kiev’s military have prepared special locations for withdrawal of the heavy weapons and they will comply 100% with the Minsk agreements, speaker of the Council for National Security and Defence Andrei Lysenko said on Sunday.

"The Ukrainian side will observe the ceasefire regime and withdrawal of the heavy weapons. We shall do it if the opponent does the same. By the way, we have already prepared special locations for the withdrawal and we are ready to comply 100% with the Minsk agreements," he said.

The Ukrainian side is ready to "withdraw the heavy weapons and is ready to exchange the prisoners," he added. The general situation in the territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions has a tendency for stabilisation.

"From 00 o’clock as the truce was announced, the military activities are falling," he said.

"The Ukrainian military are complying with the truce regime, but in case it is violated, the military will be reacting adequately," he added.

Earlier on Sunday, representative of the Donetsk People’s Republic’s defence ministry Eduard Basurin told TASS the situation in the republic was quiet, and the truce was observed.

On February 12, members of the Trilateral Contact Group on the Ukrainian conflict settlement signed a four-page set of measures to implement the earlier Minsk agreements. The document was signed by OSCE Special Representative Heidi Tagliavini, Ukraine’s second President Leonid Kuchma, Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov, as well as leaders of the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR Aleksandr Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky. The first point of the document sets condition for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire beginning from 00:00 hours (Kiev time) on February 15, 2015.