The armed formations of Ukraine have once again targeted civilian buildings. Two children and three adults suffered multiple fragmentation wounds during the attack on Sakhanka yesterday, DPR Minister of Foreign Affairs Natalya Nikonorova issued a statement on this accident.
“Children and innocent civilians suffered for the second time in a week because of the flagitious ceasefire violations by Ukraine. Attacking our territory on the eve of the anniversary of the Great Victory over Nazism, which Ukraine prefers to “celebrate” in such a monstrous and violent way, also makes this crime especially cynical.
At the next meeting of the Contact Group, we intend to raise Kiev’s failure to comply with the indefinite ceasefire and approved additional ceasefire control measures. Children and civilians were affected by attacks of the Ukrainian armed formations for the second time in four days, but we never heard that Ukrainian armed groups were brought to account for violating the ceasefire or that any investigation was ever conducted. We call for an immediate issuance of the orders to stop firing at civilian areas.
In addition, we are extremely surprised that amid the flagrant violations of the truce by Ukraine, the Kiev authorities on the media are actively boasting of their idea to involve in the Minsk talks the emigrants who left Donbass. It is important to understand that those representatives will be appointed by Ukrainian executive authorities and will reproduce their opinion in the talks.
It is obvious that people living now in Ukraine-controlled cities cannot represent the people of the Republic in Minsk, whom the Ukrainian armed groups have been regularly attacking for six years now, not to mention other victimization from Kiev: economic, transport and social blockades, rights and freedoms violations, wage arrears, etc. This PR move might only doubt even more Ukrainian officials’ ability to soundly view what is happening.
The Ukrainian actually authorities want to negotiate only with each other. But this is no way to resolve the conflict.
The situation has escalated, the leaders of Ukraine must quit populism and immediately facilitate the ceasefire, conduct thorough investigations into all ceasefire violations and bring to justice all those responsible for the crimes to relieve the tension. Secondly, Kiev ought to negotiate rather with the republics, who are the second party to the conflict, than the emigrants. Only a direct, honest and respectful dialogue will help to advance the reconcilement, all other ideas of the Kiev authorities will only alienate Donbass yet more” Natalya Nikonorova said.