Breeding the forces of the warring parties in the Donbass in the area of ​​the Stanitsa Luganskaya was the first step towards ending the armed clashes, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said. This was stated by the politician in a video message posted on his Facebook page.

“This is the first step towards a sustainable cease-fire along the entire line of demarcation, which occurred due to the unblocking of the Minsk process ... And remember, I don’t want and will never lie to you, promise something. I don’t want to promise that there will be peace tomorrow, that we will end the war tomorrow, but it seems to me that a fragile hope for the beginning of the end of the hot phase of the war - this hope has appeared, ”the Ukrainian president stressed.

Zelensky added that “there is no treason, there is no victory, unfortunately,” but the breeding of forces can be regarded as “the first small success”.

Heiko Maas, head of the German Foreign Ministry, showed much more optimism when commenting on the withdrawal of forces near the Stanitsa Luganskaya. According to the minister, this event is “an important step for eastern Ukraine.”

“This is a glimmer of hope for the search for peace. The full implementation of separation as the basis for further steps to implement the Minsk Agreements and the peaceful resolution of the conflict is now crucial, ”said Maas.

“Restore Parity”

Recall that the agreement on the creation of security zones in the Donbas around settlements has been reached by the contact group in Minsk in the fall of 2016. In particular, such zones were planned to be organized in the area of ​​the city of Zolotoe and the district center of the Stanitsa Luganskaya on the territory of the LPR and the village of Petrovskoye in the DPR. Unlike the line of demarcation, not only heavy weapons, but other army forces should be withdrawn from the security zone. Earlier, the parties managed to separate the military in the Golden and Petrovsky districts, but the implementation of agreements in the area of ​​the Stanitsa Luganskaya until recently was regularly disrupted.

  • OSCE representatives, who arrived to observe the first stage of the withdrawal of Ukrainian units, in the area of ​​the checkpoint "Stanitsa Luganskaya".
  • RIA News

On June 26, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Armed Forces of the Luhansk People’s Republic began to withdraw their positions near the entry-exit control point (KPVV) on the demarcation line in the Stanitsa Luhanskaya. The next day, Vladislav Daney, the authorized representative of the unrecognized republic at the negotiations in Minsk, said that the People’s Police of LNR had completed the withdrawal of forces and means from the security zone area. In addition, Danyne called on Ukraine "to restore parity in the other two areas in the area of ​​the village of Petrovskoye and Golden." As stated in Donetsk and Lugansk, the Armed Forces of Ukraine violate the conditions for the functioning of security zones in these areas.

The OSCE observation mission officially confirmed that the breeding of forces and equipment in the Stanitsa Luganskaya area was carried out as planned.

Kiev’s decision to withdraw the military from the Stanitsa Luganskaya was welcomed in the DPR, calling it “the first in three long years a positive step towards fulfilling the security arrangements.” This is stated in a statement by the Foreign Minister of the self-proclaimed republic Natalia Nikanorova. She also spoke in support of “further actions to synchronize this progress with advances on the political track”.

“We urge the Ukrainian side to start working in parallel in all areas of the implementation of the Minsk agreements and, in particular, to urgently start agreeing on the enactment of the law on the special status of Donbass on the basis of the Steinmeier formula,” said Nikanorova.

We will remind that earlier Frank-Walter Steinmeier, being in the post of the German Foreign Minister, proposed holding local elections in the Donbas and introducing a law in Ukraine on a special procedure for local self-government for the region.

According to experts, the DPR and the LPR demonstrate a far greater desire in the world than Kiev. On the eve of the republic, four prisoners were transferred to Ukraine at the airport in Minsk, who went home accompanied by the head of the political board of the Opposition Platform - For Life party, Viktor Medvedchuk.

However, this event did not provoke a positive reaction from Vladimir Zelensky: commenting on the return of Ukrainian citizens, the president hinted that Viktor Medvedchuk expects to use this exchange to increase his electoral rating.

“To date, Medvedchuk has released four people, while Zelensky is only talking. If the head of Ukraine agrees on the exchange of prisoners, then this can only be welcomed, ”said Vladimir Zharikhin, director of the Institute of CIS Countries, in an interview with RT.

The situation in the Donbass

At the same time, experts are not in a hurry to talk about real progress on the issue of a peaceful settlement in the Donbas. The breeding of forces in the Stanitsa Luganskaya is a single episode against the background of general tension. So, on June 29, the press service of the People’s Militia of the LPR told that the Ukrainian servicemen dressed in civilian clothes mined the territory near the contact line in Donbass.

“Simultaneously with the reconnaissance of forces near the Village of Lugansk, the command of the 25th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine actively mined the territory near the village of Happiness,” Ivan Filiponenko, the officer of the LNR People’s Militia, told reporters that the information was reflected in the report of the OSCE observation mission.

  • The consequences of the shelling of Donetsk, 2019.
  • Reuters
  • © Alexander Ermochenko

The situation is even worse in the DPR, where the line of contact with the Ukrainian positions passes near Donetsk, and the shelling of the Ukrainian Armed Forces continues almost continuously.

So, on June 30, one soldier of the self-proclaimed republic was killed and another was injured as a result of shelling of the Ukrainian security forces.

On June 22, a 13-year-old resident of Gorlovka was wounded during the shelling of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This was announced in his Telegram-channel by the acting. head of the city. Earlier, the Ukrainian military struck a massive artillery strike on the outskirts and suburbs of Donetsk, shells, in particular, damaged the building of the children's city clinical hospital.

In mid-June, the representative of the 24th separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Nazar Ilnitsky openly announced the advance of the Ukrainian military in the direction of Donetsk. In the air of the radio station "Army FM", he said that the intelligence of the Armed Forces of Ukraine had advanced towards Donetsk, as a result, the distance between the positions was reduced to 100 m. According to Ilnitsky, this was a "small victory" for the Ukrainian military.

“They understand that they are not standing still, but they are returning our lands a little bit,” he stressed.

In Donetsk, however, this information was denied: as the deputy head of the People’s Militia of the self-proclaimed DNR, Eduard Basurin, said at the time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces could not take control of the new territories, although shelling did become more frequent.

As Vladimir Zharikhin explained, although the statement of the Ukrainian military about approaching Donetsk was refuted, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are in fact seeking to advance in the “gray zone” in the area.

“It seems that the Ukrainian Armed Forces do not have a centralized strategy, because their actions with regard to the DPR are noticeably different from the tactics on the line of contact with the LPR,” the expert said in an interview with RT.

"Chance to discharge"

Vladimir Zelensky says a lot about the need for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in the Donbas, but is not yet ready for real steps that could really change the situation, experts say. Like the administration of Petro Poroshenko, the Zelensky team does not intend to conduct a direct dialogue with Donetsk and Lugansk.

At the same time, the entourage of the new Ukrainian president is still capable of talking about some concessions. So, on the eve of the head of the Zelensky administration, Andrei Bogdan, said that the Russian language in Donetsk and Lugansk could receive regional status, provided that the Ukrainian language remains the only state language.

  • Andrey Bogdan
  • globallookpress.com
  • © Sergii Kharchenko / ZUMAPRESS.com

In fact, the implementation of such an idea would mean for the region a return to the practice that existed in Ukraine before the so-called “euromaidan”. Under the then law, the language of a national minority could receive regional status in those areas where the number of its carriers exceeded 10%.

However, according to Vladimir Zharikhin Andrei Bogdan's statement, most likely, is just a rhetorical device.

“From this statement it follows that even if they speak Russian freely in the Donbass, it will be prohibited for other Russian-speaking regions,” Zharikhin explained.

A similar point of view is held by the director of the Ukrainian Institute for Policy Analysis and Management, Ruslan Bortnik.

“On the one hand, this is also part of election rhetoric, and on the other, an attempt to really look at the state of things. Such an approach can be productive, but whether it will be implemented is difficult to say, ”the expert believes.

Bortnik recalled that the Minsk Agreement enshrines a clause on language self-determination of the region - and this is not the most painful point for Kiev compared to the issue of amnesty and the expansion of the rights of local self-government.

“Speaking about the breeding of forces in the Stanitsa Luganskaya, I would like to believe that this event was a prologue to sustainable peace. But, unfortunately, this is not enough for launching a full-fledged political settlement process, ”explained Bortnik.

  • Vladimir Zelensky during a trip to the position of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donbas
  • Reuters
  • © Ukrainian Presidential Press Service

The expert also reminded that the election campaign is going on in Ukraine, and the theme of peace in the Donbas under these conditions is one of the key ones. Zelensky and his team will try to turn any success into their advantage in the context of the election campaign, the source said.

“After the election, a chance to defuse the situation may appear, but not the fact that Zelensky will take advantage of it. For example, Poroshenko in 2014 had all the possibilities for a peaceful settlement, but, unfortunately, he ignored them, ”concluded Bortnik.