MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. The self-defense forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) are ready to open a "green corridor" for Ukrainian forces out of the encirclement in Debaltseve, DPR envoy in the Contact Group Denis Pushilin said on Monday.
"For the Ukrainian forces to exit, we are ready to provide a ‘green corridor’, and DPR head Alexander Zakharchenko announced it yesterday. The corridor will be opened if [Ukrainian] forces exit without weapons or military equipment," the Donetsk News Agency quoted Pushilin as saying.
There is danger that Ukrainian forces "may get under fire from their own barrier units," the envoy said. "In this connection, their exit must be coordinated. The self-defense forces are ready to render assistance in this matter. Ukrainian forces will not be taken prisoner. We provide the ‘green corridor’, and they go home. And the same step is offered by the DPR self-defense forces," he added.
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Earlier on Monday, Pushilin said the Ukrainian forces are trying to break through the encirclement near Debaltseve from the outer side.
"The situation in Debaltseve is still tense. The Ukrainian forces continue shelling. And they are still trying to break through the encirclement from the outer side. It is impossible to cease fire completely there. That is why the self-defense forces have to respond. The attempts [at breaking through the encirclement] are countered," the Donetsk News Agency quoted Pushilin as saying.