NSDC: Terrorists attack Donetsk airport again

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September 26, 2014, Kyiv – “Situation in the ATO zone remains stringent. After several days of comparative breathing spell terrorists became active again. Illegal armed groups continue their attempts to seize positions of Ukrainian troops nearby Nikishyno, which they attacked four times, and Maloorlivka in Shakhtarskyi district. The fire attacks were held using artillery, mortar guns and light weapons, after which assault attempts were made. All the assaults were shattered and terrorists incurred losses. Terrorists shot one Ukrainian APC-80 and wounded 3 servicemen in this area nearby Kamyanka”. In Donetsk after 2 failed attempts to assail the airport militants outshot it three times using “Grad” rocket launchers and mortar guns”, – reported at his briefing in Ukraine Crisis Media Center Colonel Lysenko, the National Security and Defence Council Information Center spokesman.

Though, according to Lysenko, there were no casualties among Ukrainian servicemen in the last 24 hours.

NSDC spokesman informed that today, September 26th, 8:00am a working team of joint center on control and coordination for armistice issues and phased stabilization of parties’ limiting boundary was launched.

Representatives of Ukrainian party, an OSCE monitoring group and 76 servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation became members of the working team.

The primary goal of the center working team lies in implementation of measures directed at establishing a total ceasefire mode – “Silence” mode.

In particular, in is envisaged to withdraw weapons of destruction with a caliber exceeding 100 mm to the designated distances and create 30 km partition area as predetermined by Minsk Memorandum, as well as clearing of previously installed mine barriers in defined areas of the hostilities.

The predetermined areas for ceasefire will be divided into four to five security sectors, 3 to 5 OSCE monitoring groups jointly with Ukrainian and Russian representatives working in each of them.

It is highly important that this working team of the joint center should be exerting control over ceasefire during the whole period of stabilization of the situation in the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The tasks set to the working team of the joint center are extremely relevant, for illegal armed groupings were repeatedly attacking checkpoints and positions of the ATO forces with fire within last 24 hours.

Colonel Lysenko at his briefing informed on the response of international community to the events in Ukraine. The European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht  stated there are no reasons so far to mitigate sanctions against Russia.

Despite the fact that European Committee was directed to prepare proposals on possible sanctions mitigation, Karel De Gucht emphasized that the European Committee is unlikely to recommend such actions. “At present there are no reasons to change anything pertaining to the sanctions. What is really needed is the fulfillment of peaceful regulation plan, respecting territorial integrity of Ukraine. So far we do not observe it», – he said.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon promised to support liberation of Ukrainian citizens Nadiya Savchenko and Oleh Sentsov illegally detained in Russia.