19.12.2016, Donbass.
Fighting is underway along the whole contact line at the part of the front near Debaltsevo town, where Kiev junta military are making breakthrough attempts for almost 2 days, a spokesperson of Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) People’s Militia Major Andrey Marochko informed today.
“Fighting is underway on the Debaltsevo direction,” he said.
“The militiamen of the LPR People’s Militia do not give the possibility for the enemy to advance close to the towns and villages. The Ukrainian army is using 152mm and 122mm artillery, mortars, and heavy equipment,” Marochko stressed.
The spokesperson claimed earlier that the People’s Militia has full control over the situation near Debaltsevo town.
On Sunday, December 18th, the units of the 54th Brigade of the Ukrainian army made breakthrough attempt under artillery fire cover from the direction of Luganskoye township towards the district of Kalinovka village. According to the LPR People’s Militia, the Kiev military lost 10 men killed and 20 wounded in the combat. Two militiamen of the Republic were wounded, another two are reported missing.
On the night of December 19th, Ukrainian army shelled the territory near Logvinovo village by heavy artillery and mortars.
Today in the morning, the Kiev military resumed their attempts to breakthrough at the several parts of the contact line near Debaltsevo town, as well as the shelling of the People’s Militia positions near Kalinovka and Logvinovo villages using artillery.
Kiev junta’s military lost 3 men killed and 4 wounded today while attempting to breakthrough near Kalinovka village nor far from Debaltsevo town, Andrey Marochko informed.
“After this [combat], the Ukrainian artillerymen shelled their own positions to cover the retreat of the units of the Ukrainian army and Right Sector,” he noted.
On the Meeting in Minsk on August 26th, 2016, the members of the Contact Group on the settlement of the situation in Donbass reached an agreement on the establishment of the continuing ceasefire in Donbass starting from September 1st. This is the ninth agreement on the maintenance of the ceasefire since the autumn of 2014. Starting from September 1st, Ukrainian military repeatedly violated the ceasefire, including by shelling by weaponry, which should have been withdrawn according to the Minsk agreements. Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics called for a complete and unconditional ceasefire since September 15th. Kiev junta promised to maintain the ceasefire, but the People’s Militia registered the violations of the ceasefire obligations almost every day.
On February 12th, 2015, the Members of the Contact Group on the settlement of the situation in Donbass signed the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk agreements agreed on with the heads of the states of “Normandy format”. In the Resolution 2202 (2015), the UN Security Council endorsed the Package of Measures, which became the Annex No1 to this Resolution. The UN Security Council also urged all the parties to fully implement the Package of Measures.
The document stipulates the ceasefire, the withdrawal of the heavy artillery from the contact line, the launch of the dialogue on the reestablishment of the social and economic connections between Kiev and Donbass as well as the carrying out constitutional reform in Ukraine providing for decentralization and adopting permanent legislation on “the special status of certain areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions”.
Source: LuganskInformCenter (2)
