Shortly before, Ukrainian authorities made a number of statements. Defense Minister Zagorodniuk stated the reluctance to withdraw forces and assets along the entire contact line, and Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Krivonos — the readiness for a power projected scenario of returning Donbass to Ukraine. DPR People’s Council deputy Elena Shishkina commented on these statements.

“Even if we do not to take into account the fact that the statements by the Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Sergey Krivonos, and the Minister of Defense, Alexei Zagorodniuk, contradict the Minsk Agreements, I would like to ask the authorities of Ukraine whether they are they interested at all in what Ukrainian citizens think about this? One of them debated about the readiness for a forceful option to return Donbass, and the other said that he opposed the disengagement of forces and assets along the entire contact line.

It seems that the opinion of the electorate, whom Zelensky promised an end to the war, is of little concern to both the Defense Minister of Ukraine and his colleague Mr. Krivonos. After all, they supervise military operations while staying in Kiev, and their fantasies will have to be implemented by living people, whose mothers and wives are asking to end the war for six years now. It is simply amazing what level of cynicism can be reached by Ukrainian politicians, who calmly discuss possible assassinations of citizens of their country or make plans to deport people and at the same time consider themselves to be part of the civilized world.

If Ukrainian politicians suffer from memory impairments and have forgotten how all their military operations usually end, we will not tire of reminding them that the Minsk Agreements are not only an international treaty signed by Ukraine in the presence of guarantor countries, which we must implement. They constitute a document Ukraine was forced to sign in order to withdraw the surviving part of its troops after a large group of Ukrainian forces had been encircled near Debaltsevo. But, despite this, Ukrainian politicians keep making provocative statements, promising to return Donbass and Crimea and punish all the rebellious separatists. Apparently, this tendency will be maintained until the true masters of the situation consider it profitable to continue the war,” Elena Shishkina said.