10:20 31.01.2017

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry asks countries to increase pressure on Kremlin to avoid humanitarian catastrophe in Donbas

2 min read
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry asks countries to increase pressure on Kremlin to avoid humanitarian catastrophe in Donbas Ukraine's Foreign Ministry expresses deep concern over the intensification of the Russian-terrorist forces in Donbas. "We request our international partners to step up political and diplomatic pressure on the Kremlin to stop dangerous escalation in Donbas and avoid a humanitarian catastrophe in the region," the Foreign Ministry said on its official website. We demand from the Russian Federation to cease hostilities immediately and strictly comply with the ceasefire. The ministry says that for the last two days, the Russian occupation forces carried out massive attacks across the contact line using all available weapons, including MLRS "Grad", artillery of 152 mm and 122 mm, mortars of 120 and 82 mm, tanks, all prohibited by the Minsk agreements, and small arms. "The Russian weapon has killed eight Ukrainian soldiers and left 26 wounded," a statement says. Civilians suffer because of the shelling of the residential areas: two civilians have been wounded. The towns of Yasynuvata and Avdiyivka were fully cut off from electricity by shelling. More than 400,000 peaceful civilians in the region have no access to water, electricity and heating. Taking into consideration harsh weather conditions and the continuing shelling by the militants, the humanitarian situation in the area continues to deteriorate. "Such actions of the Kremlin may qualify as a war crime, a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions dated August 12, 1949, an unlawful, wanton and extensive destruction of property not justified by military necessity. Obviously, the current escalation in Donbas is a clear indication of Russia's continued blatant disregard of its commitments under the Minsk agreements with a view of preventing the stabilization of the situation and achieving any progress in the security and humanitarian spheres," the ministry said.
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