"School Truce" comes to Donbass

26.08.2017, DPR.

Beginning with August 25 at 00:00, a cease-fire called the “school truce” has been established in Donbass, TASS News Agency reports on August 25.

The truce corresponds to the beginning of the academic year. The the cease-fire has no specified expiration date. The truce agreement came as a result of the telephone conversation between the “Normandy format” leaders (Germany, Russia, Ukraine, France) on August 22. On August 23, during the working meeting in Minsk, the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on the settlement of the situation in Eastern Ukraine, gave its support to the initiative expressing the intention to adhere to the commitment to peace.

A joint statement of the conflicting parties states that, “The Trilateral Contact Group, in the light of the support expressed by the ‘Normandy format’ leaders on 22 August 2017, reiterates its full commitment to a permanent ceasefire on the occasion of the beginning of the school year, from midnight on 25 August 2017. The sides shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the ceasefire is sustainable. For the purpose of monitoring, the sides shall also ensure safe and secure access of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission throughout the whole territory of Ukraine, in accordance with its mandate.”

More than ten times since 2014, the participating parties of the Contact Group on the settlement of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine had declared an achieved truce. These agreements have been violated many times. The latest ceasefire agreement was reached for the period from June 24 to August 31, 2017, to allow for harvesting. It was the so-called “Bread Truce“. There was a ceasefire, but not for long. In July, fighting resumed. The latest shelling of the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic was seen on August 24, when the Ukrainian army extensively used artillery, mortars, infantry fighting vehicles, armored carriers, grenade launchers, and small arms.

Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency

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