Oct. 30 ceasefire violations by Russian-backed seperatists have delayed another round of mutual withdrawals in the Donbas planned for Nov. 4, according to the Ukrainian military.
Earlier, on Oct. 31, President Volodymyr Zelensky assessed that another disengagement operation between might start on Nov. 4 near the frontline town of Petrivske in Donetsk Oblast, some 620 kilometers southeast of Kyiv.
Ukraine’s Joint Forces command would not indicate their readiness to initiate the mutual withdrawal due to ceasefire violations committed by Russian-backed militants in the area, which were reported by the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (SMM OSCE).
At least seven days of sustained ceasefire is a prerequisite for another round of disengagement, as outlined by the Minsk agreements.
The Russian-backed forces turn were reported to have indicated their readiness to withdraw by firing signal rockets near Petrivske at noon on Nov. 4.
The third round of disengagements, which would follow previous operations near Stanytsia Luhanska in late July and near Zolote in late October, may still stake place.
During a press briefing on Nov. 4 in the city of Kramatorsk, Ukraine’s Joint Forces commanding general Volodymyr Kravchenko said the Ukrainian military had already notified OSCE of their readiness to initiate the disengagement near Petrivske if no ceasefire violations were committed.
If the current ceasefire holds, OSCE is expected to issue a report verifying the fact on Nov. 7. Then on Nov. 8 at noon, the opposing sides could start their mutual, step-by-step withdrawal of one kiometer inside their respective rear fronts.
The general once again assured that the disengagement operation would not jeopardize Ukraninian defenses in the area and would not endanger the local population.
Notably, in the two previous withdrawals the demilitarized zone between the village of Petrivske controlled by Russian-backed militants and the nearest Ukrainian-controlled town of Bohdanivka to the west contained no populated areas.
If a successful disengagement occurs in all three frontline locations, the opporsing forces are also expected to created a demilitarized zone along the entire 450-kiometer frontline of Donbas.
However, it’s still too early to consider an all-out mutual withdrawal, according to Major General Bohdan Bondar, Ukraine’s security representative for the Minsk peace talks.
“The ongoing disengagement at three locations is the first step that is supposed to ensure more confidence between the sides, which are the Russian Federation as a direct party and an aggressor to the conftlict, and the Ukrianian side.” Bondar said on Nov. 4.
