LUGANSK, August 29. /TASS/. A fighter of the people’s militia of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) was killed in the Ukrainian armed forces’ bombardment, the news agency LuganskInformCenter reported on Sunday, citing the LPR’s mission to the Joint Center for Ceasefire Control and Coordination.
The Ukrainian military breached the ceasefire once in the past twenty-four hours, delivering fire from small arms against the Zolotoye-5 community, the news agency informed.
The Contact Group on settling the situation in eastern Ukraine introduced additional measures that have been in effect since July 27, 2020 to control the ceasefire in Donbass.
Under the agreement, the conflicting parties in Donbass are prohibited from carrying out offensive, reconnaissance and subversive operations, using any types of aircraft, opening fire or deploying heavy weapons in populated localities. One of the key provisions is the use of disciplinary measures for ceasefire violations. Furthermore, any retaliatory fire in the event of an offensive is allowed only after a commander's direct order.
Despite these accords, the situation in Donbass has worsened since late February. Intensive exchanges of gunfire re-ignited on the engagement line, resulting in casualties on both sides. Kiev pins the blame on the Donbass republics for the escalation. In return, the Donbass republics castigated Ukraine’s accusations, pointing to Kiev breaching the July accords as the main cause for the escalation.