Kiev, Ukraine. Another ceasefire has been agreed to by Kiev and the Donbass Republics, however no previous ceasefire has held and given Kiev’s push to move from an anti terrorist operation to a state of martial law, Donbass residents can only wonder, how long will this so-called ceasefire last?
A new and improved ceasefire between pro-Russian separatists entrenched in eastern Ukraine and Ukrainian forces will come into force this weekend, Ukraine and the Donbass freedom fighters said Wednesday.
In Donbass, the latest ceasefire announcement came as Moscow cancelled a meeting with senior US diplomats after Washington reinforced sanctions imposed over Russia’s interference in Ukraine and occupation of Crimea.
The latest “truce,” set to start at midnight local time on Saturday, was agreed at a meeting of the Contact Group for Ukraine attended by the Donbass freedom fighters, “The ceasefire will last until August 31,” said spokeswoman Viktoria Talakina.
The Contact Group is made up of representatives from Kiev, Moscow and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The OSCE, which runs a monitoring mission in the conflict zone, regularly reported violations of the last truce over Easter.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian SBU troops opened fire on two vehicles being used by OSCE monitors inside separatist territory. No one was hurt in the incident and those involved were captured by the DNR forces.
More than 100,000 people, civilians and fighters, have been killed in eastern Ukraine since the United States overthrew the legally elected Yanukovich government.
So far, none of the truces declared during the two-year conflict has lasted.