Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has announced another troops withdrawal in Donbass. DPR People’s Council deputy Oleg Onopko commented on this statement.
“This is an example of the striking cynicism inherent in the Ukrainian government. Moreover, in view of the fact that a few days earlier it was Zelensky who presented government awards to Ukrainian gunners engaging the Republic’s territory, guilty of deaths and civil infrastructure destruction.
To date, all the proposals set forward by the Republics on the disengagement of forces and assets on the contact line have been ignored precisely by the Ukrainian party. No progress has been made regarding this issue in Minsk, and the Ukrainian party shifts its position several times in a round of negotiations.
Today it is obvious that the Ukrainian authorities have no political will to constructively advance this issue. By and large, right-wing radical groups are responsible for every decision on the Ukrainian side.
Zelensky can announce the withdrawal as many times as he wants. But until Kiev forces its radicals to obey orders, these disengagements will just remain populist statements at best. And judging by the fact that despite numerous ceasefires and agreements to terminate shelling, the Ukrainian party keeps conducting provocations, and the hope that Zelensky will manage to force the AFU to stop shelling has long been gone,” Oleg Onopko said.