Militants are not pulling heavy armaments back from the line of contact; instead, the armaments are being moved closer to Mariupol, anti-terrorist operation spokesman Andriy Lysenko told reporters.
“The enemy is moving its hardware and personnel closer to the line of contact, primarily, in the Mariupol sector. Forces and equipment of the illegal armed units are being built up near the town of Pisky in Donetsk sector, and near Stakhaniv and Brianka in Luhansk region,” he said at a press briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.
As to the media reports about the beginning of a pullout of heavy weapons by militants, Lysenko said, “The one and only condition for the withdrawal of heavy armaments is the fulfillment of the first provision of the Minsk agreements, the ceasefire. So far, the shooting has not fully stopped yet.”
Militants have been declaring the pullout of heavy armaments but instead it is relocating and regrouping its forces in other areas, he noted.
Ukraine cannot speak about a planned arms withdrawal because it has not been witnessing any, Lysenko said. In his words, such information is wrong.
At the same time, Lysenko said that the Ukrainian side was ready to start the pullback of heavy armaments.
“The Ukrainian side has prepared relevant grounds and routes for pulling out the heavy weapons mentioned in the Minsk agreements. As soon as the militants observe the ceasefire regime for two days, that will be the only signal to start the withdrawal,” he said.
