Olga Kobtseva, the representative of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) in the Contact Group humanitarian subgroup on Donbas, expressed hope on Sunday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would pay primary attention to international humanitarian law in light of increased hostilities in the region
LUHANSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd June, 2019) Olga Kobtseva, the representative of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) in the Contact Group humanitarian subgroup on Donbas, expressed hope on Sunday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would pay primary attention to international humanitarian law in light of increased hostilities in the region.
LPR Emergencies Ministry Crisis Control Centre Director Yevgeniy Katsavalov told reporters earlier on Sunday that shelling of civil infrastructure, including water supply facilities, saw an increase in the self-proclaimed republic after Zelenskyy's inauguration. He also said that two people had been injured in the Ukrainian forces' operation against LPR over the past week.
"I would like to draw attention of Ukraine's new president's team to the international humanitarian law. Within the framework of the international humanitarian law, it was prohibited to shell vital infrastructural facilities, including ... water supply infrastructure," Kobtseva told journalists.
Kobtseva emphasized that LPR representatives had expressed their willingness to engage in a dialogue with Ukrainian authorities on multiple occasions.
In April 2014, the Ukrainian government launched an offensive against Luhansk and neighboring Donetsk regions, which proclaimed independence after what they considered a coup in Ukraine two months earlier.
Since September 2014, peace in the region has been mediated by the Minsk contact group, which was created after the Normandy format talks. Despite the fact that several documents on de-escalation measures have been adopted over this time, the warring parties continue to violate the ceasefire.
