Lavrov Cites Research Showing Kiev Responsible For Majority Of Attacks In Donbas

Lavrov Cites Research Showing Kiev Responsible for Majority of Attacks in Donbas

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday cited recent research showing that Ukrainian forces were responsible for the majority of attacks on civilians in the armed conflict in Donbas

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th August, 2020) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday cited recent research showing that Ukrainian forces were responsible for the majority of attacks on civilians in the armed conflict in Donbas.

In late July, 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. In an unprecedented step, a system of holding ceasefire violators accountable was also agreed upon by the sides. The minister touted Russia's own research on the matter, based on the reports by the OSCE Mission to Ukraine.

"From this analysis, a very concrete picture emerges: the Ukrainian armed forces are responsible for more than 80 percent of the attacks on civilian targets, [also] among civilian casualties on both sides of the contact line more than 80 percent belong to the militia. In other words, the armed forces of Ukraine bear the main, lion's share of responsibility for the violation of the ceasefire agreement," Lavrov noted at a joint press conference with his German counterpart, Heiko Maas.

Since April 2014, the Ukrainian government has been conducting a military operation against the self-declared republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. Prospects for peace have been discussed in various formats, including during the meetings of the contact group in Minsk, which, since September 2014, has already adopted three documents regulating steps to de-escalate the conflict.