Updated 3:03 p.m. Moscow Time
MOSCOW, October 3 (RIA Novosti) – The Ukrainian troops will keep their heavy weaponry in the zone of contact with self-defense forces in eastern Ukraine until a ceasefire is fully observed, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine said Friday.
“As the opposing side failed to cease fire, the Ukrainian side keeps its heavy weaponry in place and continues to defend the positions currently held by the Ukrainian troops with all the weaponry that our military units have,” council spokesman Andriy Lysenko said.
Ukraine has been engulfed in a violent internal conflict since mid-April, when Kiev began its military operation against independence supporters in the southeastern regions of the country. The conflict claimed the lives of more than 3,500 people, according to the UN.
On September 5, the sides agreed on a ceasefire during a meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine held in Minsk. On September 19, the Contact Group met again in the Belarusian capital and formulated a memorandum outlining nine provisions to regulate the implementation of the ceasefire between Kiev and independence supporters in eastern Ukraine.
The memorandum calls for the creation of a 30-kilometer (18-mile) buffer zone, withdrawal of all heavy weapons within 15 kilometers (approximately 9 miles) of the contact line on both sides, including residential areas, and the deployment of the OSCE monitoring mission in southeastern Ukraine.
Since the establishment of the ceasefire regime, the conflicting sides have repeatedly accused each other of violating the agreement. However, the OSCE stated that the truce was generally holding.
