LUHANSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th July, 2020) Defense forces of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) said on Sunday they had issued an order on adherence to an indefinite ceasefire beginning midnight of July 27 as part of agreements reached by the Trilateral Contact Group on additional ceasefire control measures in eastern Ukraine.
This past Wednesday, the Trilateral Contact Group, composed of Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, negotiated new terms for ensuring ceasefire in the restless eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, referred to together as Donbas, until a comprehensive truce takes effect.
"In line with the agreements on additional control measures of the ceasefire, the LPR People's Militsiya issued an order that was applied to all units and each serviceman," LPR Militsiya Department head Yan Leschenko told journalists, adding that "Beginning from 00:01 of July 27, the LPR People's Militsiya is ready to implement conditions set under the additional ceasefire control measures."
According to the official, the order reflects all agreed additional measures for ceasefire control as well as punitive measures to be applied to the LPR military for violating them.
At the same time, Leschenko said Luhansk expected reciprocity from Kiev and was ready to respond accordingly should the Ukrainian armed forces breach the agreement.
The conflict in Ukraine began in 2014 when the army launched an offensive against Donbas after the Donetsk and Luhansk regions proclaimed independence from Kiev. Their decision came in response to what they considered to have been a coup in the Ukrainian capital that toppled the old government in February of that year.
The peace process in Donbas has since been negotiated on a number of international platforms, including the Trilateral Contact Group. Although already three documents on de-escalation have been adopted within this platform by far, occasional armed hostilities in eastern Ukraine still continue to emerge.
