DONETSK, April 20. /TASS/. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres' proposal for a "humanitarian truce" for the safe delivery of humanitarian aid is potentially dangerous, as the Ukrainian side always uses the ceasefire to regroup its forces and reinforce its positions. At the same time, Russia has been able to ensure the regular delivery of humanitarian aid to the Donbass, Denis Pushilin, head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), told TASS.
"Ukraine has been willing to kill civilians, destroy our homes, hospitals, schools, deprive us of our rights and freedoms as much as it wants, but in no way does it care about 'saving lives.' The Ukrainian regime does not care about this issue even now," the DPR head pointed out, "Given the amount of aid from the Russian Federation, delivered safely, continuously and without allowing Ukraine's armed forces to regroup, there is no point in the potentially dangerous actions Mr. UN Secretary General suggests us."
Pushilin stressed that it was Kiev that disrupted any cease-fire achieved and used it only to regroup forces. "Over the eight years of the Minsk negotiating process between the parties to the conflict - Ukraine and the Donbass republics - more than 20 truces have been agreed upon. However, the fate of all these various truces is the same and extremely pitiable: all of them were disrupted by the Ukrainian side, and often ended in even greater casualties and destruction on our side, because Kiev used the ceasefire time to regroup its forces, reinforce positions, and bring ammunition," he noted.
The DPR head also pointed out that all the offices of UN agencies working in the DPR are notified about the mechanisms of delivery of humanitarian aid worked out. "As for Mr. Guterres' concerns about the aspects of safe delivery of humanitarian aid, he should be aware of the following. All the local offices of UN agencies present and operating on the DPR’s territory, which are closely cooperating with the authorities of the republic on the humanitarian line, are notified about the existing elaborated mechanisms of delivering such aid to the DPR areas most affected by the Ukrainian shelling," he said.
In this regard, Pushilin stated that the UN Secretary General's calls for a "humanitarian truce" for the safe delivery of humanitarian aid were puzzling.
On Tuesday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for a humanitarian truce in Ukraine from April 21 for four days due to the celebration of Easter by Orthodox Christians. He said this would allow the safe delivery of humanitarian aid and the withdrawal of civilians.