MOSCOW, September 30. /TASS/. Ukraine has in fact stepped back from the additional measures ensuring the ceasefire in Donbass, Russia’s Plenipotentiary Representative Boris Gryzlov said on Wednesday after a regular round of talks of the Contact Group seeking peace for eastern Ukraine.
"All the proposals to coordinate and control the ceasefire have been blocked, while the previous agreements on joint inspections by Ukraine and Donbass have been disrupted. Ukraine’s Armed Forces are setting up positions in disengagement areas," he told reporters. "That can be seen in no other light than as the preparations for new Ukrainian military operations against Donetsk and Lugansk. In the wake of the current election campaign in Ukraine, the order to resume hostilities by the Ukrainian side can come at any time."
Gryzlov stated with regret that some representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) underestimate the threat, although the OSCE mission has recorded over 1,300 ceasefire violations since July 27.
On July 27, additional measures, approved by the Contact Group seeking peace for eastern Ukraine to ensure a ceasefire, came into effect in Donbass. Among the measures are a ban on any offensive, intelligence or sabotage activities, on the use of all types of aircraft, on the use of fire, including sniper fire, and on the deployment of heavy weapons in inhabited localities. One of the key provisions of the agreement stipulates disciplinary measures for breaking the ceasefire, whereas in case of offensive operations, return fire is allowed only after a direct order from the command.