Ukraine at OSCE tells about Russian provocation near Petrivske

“Every week, the Russian delegation in this hall speaks on the necessity to implement the Minsk agreements. Every week, we continue to observe the ongoing violations of ceasefire, military provocations by the Russian armed formations, casualties of Ukrainian citizens, and lack of progress in withdrawal of the Minsk-proscribed weapons from the line of contact,” Ambassador Yevhenii Tsymbaliuk, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna, said at the OSCE Permanent Council meeting on November 21, 2019.

The diplomat stressed that Russia’s policy of controlled escalation and fuelling violence remained in place even in the fields where some progress had been achieved.

“On 15 and 16 November, the Russian proxies fired Ukrainian military positions close to the Petrivske disengagement area, including with the use of mortars. Russia’s intention was to provoke retaliatory fire and to use it, as usual, for propaganda purposes to blame Ukraine for violating the completed disengagement in the respective disengagement area. We strongly condemn these provocations,” Tsymbaliuk stated.

He added that the Ukrainian side continued dismantling fortified positions within the pilot disengagement areas in the Zolote and Petrivske, as confirmed by the SMM reports. The renovated bridge near Stanytsia Luhanska has become operational, facilitating crossings of the line of contact for dozens of thousands of civilians. At the administrative boundary line with Russia-occupied Crimea, the Ukrainian authorities completed construction works at the Chonhar and Kalanchak entry-exit checkpoints, which now have new administrative buildings and facilities.

“The Ukrainian government remains committed to maintaining contacts with the Ukrainian citizens forced to live under Russia’s temporary occupation,” the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna underscored.

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