LUHANSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th July, 2020) The Ukrainian forces have shelled the territory of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) despite new measures to maintain total ceasefire between Kiev and Donbas came into force on Monday, LPR Militia Department head Yan Leschenko said on Thursday.
Last week, the eastern Ukrainian peace process saw a breakthrough when negotiators signed an exhaustive list of measures on how to maintain the peace in the volatile region. The measures include a blanket ban on deploying military equipment or using drones in reconnaissance, sabotage, or offensive missions in sensitive locations. A system of holding ceasefire violators accountable was also agreed upon by the sides. The sides issued ceasefire orders, which came into force at 00:01 a.m. Kiev time on Monday, July 27 (21:01 GMT on July 26).
"Despite the agreements reached, the Ukrainian armed forces carried out provocative shelling of the republic's territory," Leschenko told reporters.
The militia's chief clarified that Ukrainian security forces fired a hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher in the direction of the LPR militia positions in the area of Golubivske village. After that, the Ukrainian security forces opened fire two more times from grenade launchers and small arms.
At the same time, the press service of the office of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that there had been no major escalation following the declaration of ceasefire, and isolated attacks taking place in the region could not be perceived as systematic violations.
