MOSCOW, August 10. /TASS/. Media reports about clashes near the Novaya Laspa settlement in the Telmanovsky region are false, Telmanove administration head Sergey Ivanov told Donetsk News Agency on Monday.
"At night, Ukrainian Armed Forces heavily shelled the settlement. Novaya Laspa remains under the control of DPR [self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic]," Ivanov said.
Several media reported earlier today citing the press service of the military operation in Donbas that Ukrainian forces ousted DPR militia forces from the Novaya Laspa settlement located around 40 kilometers to the south of Donetsk. The settlement is regularly shelled by Ukrainian Armed Forces. Some reports described the incident as Kiev’s "counterattack" against DPR militia forces.
Weaponry withdrawal
On July 18, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics (DPR and LPR) announced their plans to unilaterally withdraw heavy weaponry from the contact line. Weaponry withdrawal is envisaged by the Minsk agreements on the settlement in Ukraine signed on February 12 by Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine in the Belarusian capital.
DPR announced at the end of July that it completed the withdrawal of weaponry of less than 100mm caliber from the contact line, leaving tanks only in "hot spots" to the north of Donetsk and in Debaltsevo. LPR also completed the withdrawal of weaponry from the contact line, leaving tanks and armored vehicles only on positions near the Schastye settlement.
On July 21, the Contact Group on Ukrainian settlement reached an agreement on gradual withdrawal of weaponry of less than 100mm caliber by both sides. However, the final document has not been signed yet.