Ukraine and pro-Russian militias accuse each other of violating the ceasefire in Donbas

The Ukrainian government and the pro-Russian separatist militias supported by the Russian government of Vladimir Putin accused each other of violating the ceasefire regime in eastern Ukraine, where they have been fighting for almost eight years in a conflict that has taken more of 14,000 lives.

In Brussels, the high representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, highlighted his concern “for the increase in fighting.”

The ceasefire in Donbas has been breached since it was established in 2015 with minor or major incidents, which is collected every day by the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Neither the United States nor the countries of the Northern Alliance Treaty Organization (NATO) have believed the Russian announcement of the withdrawal of troops from the borders with Ukraine. Quite the contrary, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, has warned that the presence of Russian troops is “threatening” and that it is still “clearly possible” that Russia invades that country.

This is a summary of what has happened on this day so far:

– The Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatist militias backed by Moscow have accused each other of violating the ceasefire regime in eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense denounced that this Wednesday the pro-Russians violated the ceasefire on 29 occasions, without causing casualties in the ranks of the government forces.

– The self-proclaimed people’s republics of Donetsk (DPR) and Lugansk (RPL) assured that the Ukrainian Army attacked the surroundings of nine towns under their control with mortar fire, according to the agency of the pro-Russian separatists DAN. The attacks took place between 05:32 and 07:42 hours this morning, with the use of 120 and 82 mm mortars, grenade launchers and machine guns.

– The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, said in Brussels: “What we have evidence of and we are very concerned about is the increase in fighting and heavy bombardment in some parts of the border.”

– The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, will participate this Thursday in a meeting of the UN Security Council in which he plans to denounce that Russia continues with its plans for an “imminent invasion” of Ukraine.

– Russia affirmed, through Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov, that the return to their permanent barracks of the troops that participated in military exercises in regions close to Ukraine has begun, that it will not take place in a single day, and rejected as unfounded the accusations about sending new forces towards the Russian-Ukrainian border.

– Russia will convey to the United States today its reaction to the US response to security demands raised by Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. “Today we will send that letter to the US side,” Lavrov said at a joint press conference with his Italian counterpart, Luigi Di Maio. The content will be made public in the next few hours.

– The President of Belarus, Alexandr Lukashenko, said that this Friday he will decide with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on the withdrawal of Russian soldiers participating in joint military exercises on Belarusian territory, including in the south, bordering Ukraine.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has threatened to deploy nuclear “or even supernuclear” weapons in the country if threatened, as tensions between Belarus, Russia and the Western-backed Ukraine have reached unprecedented levels.

– The Secretary of Defense of the United Kingdom, Ben Wallace, assured that Russia has not begun to withdraw its troops around Ukraine, but that the military build-up continues, and even made reference to the construction of a bridge between Belarus and the vicinity of Ukraine. Ukraine.

– The Russian Defense Ministry said that ten military convoys with heavy or dangerous cargo left Crimea after concluding exercises on the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 on Tuesday, according to Russian agencies.

– NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed that the Alliance is “concerned” that Russia will try to carry out a “false flag” operation in eastern Ukraine, designed to look like an attack against the Russians or Russian-speakers in Ukraine as an excuse to enter Ukrainian territory.

– The OSCE has called for this Friday a meeting of its 57 member states, including Ukraine, Russia, the United States and all of the EU, for Moscow to report on its military activities. Russia refuses to participate, as it did with a previous meeting.

– The heads of state and government of the EU held an informal meeting this Thursday to discuss the crisis with Russia, with the aim of exchanging information after the latest diplomatic efforts and in which sanctions are not expected to be approved. The French President, Emmanuel Macron, and the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, will convey to the rest of the Heads of State and Government the results of their recent meetings with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin.