Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry expresses deep concern over the intensification of the Russian-terrorist forces in Donbas.
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 8 Ukrainian soldiers and has left 26 wounded.
Civilians suffer because of the shelling of the residential areas: 2 civilians have been wounded. The cities of Yasinovata 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. Given 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 of 12 August 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.
We demand from the Russian Federation to cease hostilities immediately and to comply strictly with the ceasefire.
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.
Source: http://mfa.gov.ua/en
