DONETSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th November, 2019) Ukraine's radical armed groups have shelled the settlement of Petrivske in a bid to disrupt the planned troop disengagement in the area, the militia of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said on Sunday.
On Wednesday, the DPR reported that Ukraine's nationalist groups had arrived in the area of troop disengagement, raising concerns over the possibility of provocative actions on their side to thwart the process.
"From ... organizational measures, the radicals have moved to practical actions to escalate tensions with a view to disrupting the disengagement of forces. Yesterday, the settlement of Petrivske was subjected to a grenade attack by armed groups of Ukraine, which was recorded in an official report of the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination on ceasefire," a DPR militia spokesman told reporters.
According to the spokesman, this week, the Ukrainian military has also stepped up aerial reconnaissance along the contact line. He added that the DPR had downed "two enemy drones Phantom and Maverick" over the given period.
The sides to the Donbas conflict have earlier agreed to resume efforts to disengage troops near two settlements. On Friday, both the Ukrainian military and the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic announced that they had completed the disengagement of troops and military hardware near the settlement of Zolote.
After the disengagement near Zolote, the sides expect the same process to be launched in the area of Petrivske. On Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy initially said that the Ukrainian army and the DPR militia should begin troop pullout near Petrivske on November 4. The breakaway republic swiftly confirmed its readiness to start the disengagement at the set date.
The next day, Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk, however, said that he expected the process to be postponed over alleged ceasefire violations. The DPR reiterated its commitment to start the pullout as scheduled.
