Silence regime in eastern Ukraine observed — Donetsk Republic defense ministry
The day of silence in eastern Ukraine began at 09:00 a.m. local time
DONETSK, December 9. /TASS/. The silence regime in Donbas (the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine) is currently being observed, the Defense Ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) said Tuesday.
“The silence regime is being observed for the time being,” a ministry spokesman said while commenting on the situation as of 17:00 Moscow Time (14:00 UTC).
The day of silence in eastern Ukraine began at 09:00 a.m. local time (0700 GMT).
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced plans to introduce a moratorium on combat operations between Ukrainian units and south-eastern militias on December 4. The proposal was welcomed by leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s republics.
According to the United Nations, more than 4,000 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands have fled Ukraine’s southeast as a result of clashes between Ukrainian troops and local militias in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions during Kiev’s military operation, conducted since mid-April, to regain control over the breakaway territories.
The parties to the Ukrainian conflict agreed on a ceasefire at talks mediated by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on September 5 in Belarusian capital Minsk two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed his plan to settle the situation in the east of Ukraine.
The ceasefire took effect the same day but has reportedly occasionally been violated.
The Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine comprising representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE adopted a memorandum on September 19 in Minsk, which outlined the parameters for the implementation of commitments on the ceasefire in Ukraine laid down in the Minsk Protocol of September 5.
The nine-point document in particular stipulates a ban on the use of all armaments and withdrawal of weapons with the calibers of over 100 millimeters to a distance of 15 kilometers from the contact line from each side. The OSCE was tasked with controlling the implementation of memorandum provisions.