The statement made by representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic that Ukraine has violated disengagement along the line of demarcation between Russian hybrid forces and Ukrainian troops is a provocation, according to the press center of the Anti-Terrorism Operation (ATO).

"How can we speak of a violation when there are today illegal armed formations in the Donetsk and Mariupol sectors, who are using heavy 120-mm weapons? We have withdrawn our heavy weapons a long time ago," ATO spokesman Leonid Matiukhin told the Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

Matiukhin said, "The statement is another provocation."