The Directorate of People’s Militia of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic announced the deployment of armored vehicles of the Ukrainian security forces in the area of separation of forces and assets near the village of Petrovskoye.
It was previously reported that the parties of the conflict agreed on a date for the separation of forces and assets at two pilot sites on the territory of the DPR and LPR. Later, the republic’s representative office in the joint center for monitoring and coordinating the ceasefire stated that the process of the separation of forces and assets in the area of the Petrovskoye settlement on the territory of the DPR did not take place.
“We continue to note an increase in the activity of the Ukrainian armed forces at the site of the separation of forces and assets in the Petrovsky area. Thus, in the Bogdanovka area, there was a covert deployment of two BTR-70s, one BRDM, and two Ural trucks transporting personnel, property and ammunition. OSCE observers record the actions of the Ukrainian armed forces in the vicinity of the breeding site, Ukrainian fighters opened fire from small arms towards the Ukrainian armed forces mission, forcing observers to leave the danger zone”, – a representative of the People’s DPR Police told the reporters.
He noted that the security forces have intensified the use of the means of the mobile electronic warfare group to suppress the Ukrainian armed forces control signals of OSCE observers.
“Of particular concern to us is the arrival of an enemy sniper group in the indicated area, which poses a threat to the OSCE SMM patrols”, – a spokesman said.
In 2016, the contact group to resolve the situation in Ukraine signed a framework decision on the deployment of forces and means of the parties to the conflict in the Donbass. The withdrawal of forces in the area of the settlements of Zolotoye and Petrovsky took place in 2016, in the Village of Lugansk in June 2019. At the same time, the DNI and LNR have repeatedly stated that the Ukrainian security forces advanced deep into the breeding areas in the Petrovsky and Zolotoye districts, and insisted on restoring parity.
At a contact group meeting in Minsk on October 1, the parties agreed to resume the process of separation of forces in the Petrovsky and Zolotoy areas from October 7. The parties were to begin the withdrawal of forces on October 9. The DPR and LPR for three days confirmed their readiness to begin the process, but there was no response from the Ukrainian security forces.