Kiev blames pro-Russia forces for mortar attack

Ukrainian military authorities have blamed pro-Russia forces for injuring seven people by firing rockets at Kiev-held positions in defiance of the latest truce accord in the east of the country.

Kiev’s army spokesman Andriy Lysenko announced on Monday that six government soldiers and a civilian were wounded in fighting over the last 24 hours, renewing fears of escalating tensions in the conflict-ridden region since last month’s ceasefire agreement between the warring sides.

The Ukrainian interior ministry asserted that a civilian had suffered a shrapnel wound in the government-held town of Dzerzhynsk, following the alleged mortar attack late Sunday.

Lysenko cautioned that "the situation remained unstable" along the entire conflict line, where Kiev alleges that pro-Russia forces have used mortars, grenades and heavy weapons against the terms of the ceasefire.

The ceasefire, dubbed Minsk II, requires government forces and pro-Russia militias to pull back heavy weapons from the conflict zones. But both sides have repeatedly issued counter claims blaming violation of the deal by the other party.

Commanders of the pro-Russia forces as well as senior Kremlin officials that Western-backed Kiev troops have repeatedly violated the terms of the ceasefire and have not yet pulled all their heavy weaponry from the frontlines as required by the truce.

The Russian foreign ministry issued a statement on Saturday describing Kiev claims of withdrawing its heavy weapons from the conflict zone as a “bluff.”

"The Russian Foreign Ministry has to emphasize that we are speaking of another serious violation of Minsk agreements that stipulate the withdrawal of heavy weaponry from the contact line… The claims of Ukrainian authorities that all of its heavy weapons have been withdrawn are once again proving to be bluff," said the ministry.

On Sunday, the NATO’s top military commander called  for an all-out backing of the Ukrainian government – including sending arms – by Western nations in response to what he alleged was Moscow’s arming of pro-Russia forces in the east of the country.

"We in the West should consider using all of our tools in reply,” said US Air Force General Philip Breedlove (pictured above), who also commands the US European Command. “Could it be destabilizing? The answer is yes,” he added.

Ukraine’s warring sides reached a deal at a summit attended by the leaders of Russia, France, and Germany in the Belarusian capital on February 11 and 12. The agreement introduced measures such as a ceasefire, which took effect on February 15, the pullout of heavy weapons, and constitutional reforms in Ukraine by the end of the year.

The two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine have been hit by deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations in April last year to crush pro-Russia protests there.

MFB/NT

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