Ukraine against disengagement of troops along entire contact line – defense minister

"We have considered this issue very seriously at the Defense Ministry, the General Staff, other security agencies, and at NSDC meetings. The main thing is that this is contrary to the Minsk agreements. The Minsk agreements say that foreign military formations should leave Ukraine, and illegal military formations should be disarmed and disbanded. Of course, if the old agreements are replaced by the new ones, the new ones have more priority, and the new ones could speak of disengagement. Therefore, we would actually complicate any efforts to implement the Minsk agreements in this part," he said.

In addition, he said, the disengagement process does not in any way change the security situation.

"If there is political will on the other side to escalate the conflict, two kilometers will not make much difference. This is not a problem for snipers, for subversive and reconnaissance groups," Zahorodniuk said.

Earlier, the European Union expressed concern about the presence of Russian-led armed formations in disengagement areas in Donbas, including militants with armbands bearing the inscription "JCCC."

A relevant EU statement was read out during a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on February 6.

In this regard, the European Union called on Russia to influence Russian-supported armed formations with a view to ensuring the fulfillment of the commitments agreed upon during the Normandy Four summit in Paris on December 9.

op