Russia's Permanent Representative in the contact group, Boris Gryzlov, confirmed that in the area of ​​the Petrovskoye settlement in the Donbass a separation of forces began. He noted that Russia welcomes this process.

According to him, the Kiev and Donetsk sides "began to synchronously eliminate violations at the site of the separation of forces and assets in the Petrovsky district." Gryzlov expressed hope that there would be no attempt to disrupt the process.

“I hope that we will not see new Kiev attempts to disrupt the implementation of the agreements on the withdrawal of forces. And I hope that the breeding process in Petrovsky will be successfully completed in the near future, ”RIA Novosti quoted Gryzlov as saying.

Earlier, the beginning of the withdrawal of forces was confirmed by Kiev. According to Andrey Ageev, the head of the press center of the Joint Operations Operation headquarters, the process has entered the practical phase, a mirror signal of its beginning was confirmed by the OSCE.

According to Ageev, according to the schedule, three days are given for withdrawal. In turn, representatives of the DPR promised to implement the procedure faster.

“The units on our part are not significant, we can meet one day. All three days were requested from the Ukrainian side to hold these events, ”RIA Novosti quoted Ruslan Yakubov, the head of the DPR’s representative office in the Central Control Commission.

Later, the SCCC announced that the DPR had completely completed the withdrawal of units and weapons from Petrovsky.

Representatives of the OSCE special monitoring mission welcomed the beginning of the separation of forces and expressed their readiness to observe the situation in the area, including using special equipment.

“We are ready to observe the breeding throughout the days with the help of our patrols, cameras and unmanned aerial vehicles,” RIA Novosti quotes a representative of the Donetsk office of the OSCE SMM.

General of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Bogdan Bondar told reporters that the effectiveness of the process of withdrawal of forces can be judged in three days - at 12:00 on November 12.

“After the separation of forces and means in three points, there is an opportunity to come to an agreement, move further along the path of settlement in the Donbass,” TASS Cooper quotes.

Speaking about the successful start of the separation of forces in Petrovsky, a member of the State Duma’s Committee on International Affairs Anton Morozov said that Kiev’s actions are encouraging, despite previous unsuccessful attempts to implement the Minsk agreement.

“Apparently, Kiev has matured and heard sound voices from around the world, talking about stopping the civil confrontation and moving on to building a peaceful life in the Donbass. Therefore, we hope that good intentions will end in a normal result, ”said the parliamentarian in an interview with RT.

He expressed the opinion that earlier the West needed the conflict in the east of Ukraine to destabilize the situation in Russia, but by now the situation has changed.

“Now it’s already like a suitcase without a handle for the West and especially for Europe. Therefore, I think that they will make efforts for President Zelensky and his team to fulfill the agreements that were so difficult to reach, ”the deputy said.

  • DPR military personnel near Petrovsky, November 9, 2019
  • Reuters
  • © Alexander Ermochenko

Steinmeier Formula

The breeding of forces in the area of ​​the settlements of Zolotoe and Petrovskoye is the result of the coordination of the Steinmeier formula by the contact group in Minsk on October 1. It is a question of the entry into force of the law on the special status of Donbass and the holding of elections there.

Initially, it was planned that the separation of forces in both settlements, but subsequently the start date was repeatedly postponed due to the activity of nationalists on the border with the self-proclaimed republics of Donbass and the mutual accusations of shelling on both sides.

In the Zolotoy district, a breeding of forces was only possible on October 29th. Soon after, Zelensky announced that the breeding in Petrovsky would take place on November 4, but the process failed. The self-proclaimed republics of Donbass blamed the incident on Kiev.

The representative office of the Donetsk People’s Republic in the Joint Center for the Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire (JCCC) stated that at 13:00 Moscow time, representatives of the DPR launched a white signal rocket indicating their readiness for the separation of forces. However, from the side of Kiev on that day, no similar actions were followed.

In turn, at the headquarters of the operation, the combined forces explained their position by saying that the breeding could not take place due to the violation of the seven-day regime of silence. The Ukrainian side called the attempt to initiate a separation of forces by representatives of the DPR "provocation."

Commenting on the difficulties of the breeding of forces in the Donbass, Professor of the Department of Comparative Political Science of PFUR Yuriy Pochta drew attention to the fact that it was not easy for President Zelensky to realize promises at the end of the war due to the consequences of the work of the previous leadership of Ukraine.

“Over the years of the conflict, public opinion was formed, an ideology that, as it were, excludes reconciliation with the Donbass and its adoption on an equal level of autonomy to Ukraine. Therefore, today it is rather difficult to judge whether the process of implementing the Steinmeier formula or the Minsk agreements will continue, ”the expert admitted in an interview with RT.

According to him, Poroshenko laid many obstacles in the way of this process and freezing the conflict with a ceasefire in the coming months will already be a huge achievement.