DONETSK, December 29. /TASS/. Units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have used incendiary weapons on the territory of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) for the first time since the additional ceasefire control measures were enforced, the DPR people’s militia informed on Tuesday.
"The Ukrainian Armed Forces opened fire from 120-mm mortars from the positions located in the living area of the Vodyanoye settlement on the area of the Leninskoye settlement, launching 12 incendiary mines. We note that the enemy has used this type of weapon for the first time since July 27, when additional measures were enforced," the Donetsk News Agency quotes the message as saying.
The militia stated that the incendiary mines used by Ukraine can be considered weapons of mass destruction and they are forbidden by the corresponding UN convention. In this regard, the DPR called on international observers to get involved.
On Tuesday evening, the Ukrainian military shelled the south of the DPR from mortars, releasing a total of 49 mines of a 120-mm caliber on the settlements of Leninskoye and Kominternovo.
The Contact Group on the settlement of the situation in eastern Ukraine, which held a videoconference meeting on July 22, agreed additional measures to control the ceasefire along the contact line in Donbass that came in force from July 27. The agreement came a year after the so-called indefinite ceasefire was declared by the parties on July 21, 2019 following more than 20 futile attempts to stop hostilities. Under the agreement, the parties to the conflict are banned from staging offensive and reconnaissance operations, using any types of drones, opening fire, including from sniper weapons, and deploying heavy weapons in populated localities and addition engineering equipment on their positions. One of the key provisions is the use of disciplinary measures for ceasefire violations.