Heavy weapons belonging to illegal armed units are still deployed in their forward positions in Donbas, says Oleksandr Turchynov, the secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council.
“We see with the help of aerospace reconnaissance that they lie about declaring the withdrawal of their heavy weapons. These statements and demonstrative actions only serve to create propaganda for Russian channels. They demonstrate withdrawal daily and then return hardware and weapons to their combat positions at night,” Turchynov told journalists on July 22 at a military range in Novi Petrivtsi, the Kyiv Oblast.
To uphold his allegations, Turchynov said Ukrainian government forces have been shelled regularly, including with the use of heavy 152mm artillery guns, tanks, and large-caliber mortars.
“All this is present in forward positions of Russo-terrorist groups or is hidden in residential neighborhoods in frontline towns. In making their lying statements, they cynically continue to work toward disrupting the Minsk peace accords,” he said.
The leadership of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) announced on July 18 that the militia would unilaterally withdraw weapons up to 100mm in caliber at least three kilometers away from the line of contact.
The DPR defense ministry said on Wednesday it had completed withdrawing such weapons from the line of contact.
