KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th August, 2020) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, against the backdrop of a truce in Donbas, signed a decree to appoint a new commander of the Special Operations Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Maj. Gen. Hryhoriy Halahan.
Zelenskyy noted that in conditions of the ceasefire, the tasks of the Joint Forces Operation have changed - the new commander has been tasked with "introducing more aggressive measures to counter the challenges that arise and properly responding to provocative actions by the enemy."
In April 2014, the Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation against the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics, which declared independence after a coup in Ukraine in February 2014. According to the latest UN data, about 13,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
The Donbas settlement is being discussed, in particular, during Minsk meetings of the Trilateral Contact Group, which since September 2014 has already adopted three documents regulating steps to de-escalate the conflict. However, after the armistice agreements between the parties to the conflict, shootouts continue.
