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Four ceasefire violations by Ukrainian troops reported in LPR during day

Situation in Donbass has been escalating since late February 2021

LUGANSK, April 27. /TASS/. Four ceasefire violations by Ukrainian troops were reported in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) during the day, the press service of the LPR’s defense ministry said on Tuesday.

"Since the beginning of this day, four violations of provision two of the additional ceasefire control measures have been reported," LuganskInformCenter quoted it as saying.

Coming under shelling were the settlments of Zolotiye-5, Molodezhnoye, and Logvinovo. Ukrainian troops used mortars and grenade launchers of various types. "Representatives of the Ukrainian side to the Joint Control and Coordination Center were informed about these facts in order to exclude blaming the LPR for provocations," it said.

The Contact Group on the settlement of the situation in eastern Ukraine, which held a videoconference meeting on July 22, 2020 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 to stage offensive and reconnaissance operations, use any types of drones, open fire, including from sniper weapons, and deploy heavy weapons in populated localities and addition engineering equipment at their positions. One of the key provisions is the use of disciplinary measures for ceasefire violations.

However, the situation in Donbass has been escalating since late February 2021, despite the additional ceasefire control measures agreed by the sides on July 22, 2020. Shootouts have been reported from the contact line quite frequently, with casualties reported on both sides, including among civilians. Ukraine has blamed the Donbass republics for the escalation whereas Lugansk and Donetsk accuse Ukraine of ignoring the July 2020 agreements.