13:58 13.06.2019

Ukrainian military in Donbas have not been ordered not to return fire

2 min read
Ukrainian military in Donbas have not been ordered not to return fire

Chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Ruslan Khomchak has said that the military command did not order servicemen on the contact line not to respond to shelling from the occupied part of Donbas.

"Not a single person who at least understands something in a war will give such an order. And there were no such orders. I did not receive such orders from our military and political leadership, and I did not give such orders. And I know for sure that the commanders there, in the JFO [Joint Forces Operation], did not and will not give such orders," he said in an interview with BBC News Ukrainian, published on Thursday.

As reported, the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) held a meeting in Minsk on June 5. Ukraine's representative in TCG, second Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said that the group had discussed security issues. One of the agreements was to fix not only the beginning of the "ceasefire," but also the mechanism for its implementation.

"Today we must show to the whole world that we want this 'ceasefire.' It must be written down, so as not to return fire. We also need a ban on the shelling of civilian facilities, such as schools and kindergartens. Before June 19, the group will have to develop proposals. On June 19, we'll have to approve them," Kuchma was quoted as saying on the website of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine.

This statement triggered public outcry.

Kuchma specified that the Ukrainian side should not respond to provocative shelling if it comes from the side of civilian facilities. He said enemy fire should always be returned when fighting takes place in the relevant territory where there are no populated localities.

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