New fighting in Donbas threatens the 'thaw' between Kiev and Moscow

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The pro-Russian separatist militias launched several mortar attacks this morning against the positions of government forces in various locations in the Donbas region of Ukraine. A Ukrainian soldier died and four others were injured in the worst clash in the area since a summit of the presidents of Ukraine and Russia with the leaders of France and Germany in December led to a 'thaw' in the conflict, a breakthrough that even made it possible a wide exchange of prisoners. Kiev now speaks of "provocation."

The armed clashes this Tuesday are the most serious that have been recorded in recent weeks . This time the Ukrainian army was forced "to withdraw from its defensive positions near the city of Zolote in the Lugansk region as a result of an enemy attack," according to the Unian agency. These attacks occur just a week after Russian President Vladimir Putin strongly urged his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodimir Zelensky, to apply once the peace agreements for eastern Ukraine . "The attacks have been the fiercest in recent years, Russian mercenaries also attacked civil neighborhoods," said the Ukrainian news service TSN-TV.

The separatists accuse Ukrainian government forces of attacking first, according to Reuters that a small group of Ukrainian soldiers had tried and failed to break into the area they control . According to his version, the group had run into a minefield, and this action had left two Ukrainian soldiers dead and three others injured. Ukrainian forces had attacked civil areas with artillery, they added.

The Minsk peace agreements signed in 2015 have led to a drastic reduction in fighting, but their political component remains a wet role . Both belligerent sides reject the responsibility of each skirmish.

The president of Ukraine convened for today a meeting of the National Defense and Defense Council and noted that this "cynical provocation" coincides with the fifth anniversary of the "Debaltsevo tragedy", referring to the worst military defeat in Kiev so far of conflict

"The situation is totally controlled by our Army. We are convinced that this provocation will not change our policy, which is to move resolutely towards the end of the war and towards peace," the Ukrainian president wrote on Facebook. Virtually daily violations of the ceasefire regime occur in the line of separation of forces . But the new fighting has surprised by its breadth.

The separatists attacked the positions of government forces alongside the towns of Novotoshkovskoye, Orejovoye, Krimskoye and Volni. According to the version of the Ukrainian command, they tried to move forward and found an "adequate response" from the units of the government military group deployed in the conflict zone. In addition to 120 mm mortars, prohibited by the Minsk Agreements for the settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the pro-Russians employed heavy machine guns and grenade launchers . Lugansk militias suffered a fatal casualty, in addition to five seriously injured, according to the press center of the Operation of the Joint Forces of Ukraine.

The Kiev Government accuses Russia of supporting the separatists of the self-proclaimed popular republics of Donetsk and Lugansk with weapons and even regular troops , which for Ukraine and many analysts are territories under Russian occupation. The Kremlin "has no information" on a skirmish between Lugansk militias and the Ukrainian army in Donbas, said presidential spokesman Dimitri Peskov in statements released by the Sputnik agency.

Since April 2014, Ukraine has carried out this operation against the militias in the east of its territory where the popular republics of Donetsk and Lugansk were proclaimed, in response to the popular revolt that became a government change in Kiev in February of the same year. More than 13,000 people, including combatants and civilians, have died in the almost six years of the armed conflict in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, both bordering with Russia.

Zelensky came to power last year promising to end the conflict with a more flexible approach and dialogue with everyone, also with Russia. Since then, Kiev and Moscow have implemented some measures that have reduced mutual distrust . Today's fighting is a stumbling block in that process.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project