There has been less shooting in eastern Ukraine's conflict-torn region of Donbas since the truce for the new school year came into force, Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, spokesman for the country's Defense Ministry, said on Thursday.
KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th August, 2018) There has been less shooting in eastern Ukraine's conflict-torn region of Donbas since the truce for the new school year came into force, Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, spokesman for the country's Defense Ministry, said on Thursday.
The so-called "school ceasefire" began early on Wednesday, following an agreement reached by the members of the Contact Group on Ukraine, which includes Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. This is already the fourth attempt to establish peace in the region since the beginning of 2018.
"Ukrainian military officers have registered one targeted shooting attack on their positions over the past 24 hours ... In general, the intensity of shooting at the Armed Forces of Ukraine's positions has significantly decreased," Motuzyanyk said, as quoted by the Defense Ministry's press service.
He went on to say that the terms of the "school ceasefire" were not fully respected, but the Ukrainian law enforcement forces had not sustained any casualties over the past 24 hours.
The conflict in Donbas started in 2014, when Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation against the self-proclaimed People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk following their refusal to recognize the new government that, according to their claims, had come to power over a coup. Although the Minsk peace accords were signed in February 2015 by the Normandy Four group, comprising Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany, the situation remains unstable, as the warring parties keep accusing each other of ceasefire violations.
