Leader of the "DNR" Denis Pushilin has postponed the attack on the Joint Forces positions of to 10 a.m. on September 9. This was stated by Eduard Basurin, who calls himself the official representative of the "People's Militia" ("DNR" illegal armed formations - OstroV).
According to him, the occupation forces cannot establish in any way what is happening in the vicinity of Hrolivka near the village of Shumy: dismantling or strengthening of fortifications.
"During observation of the site close to the contact line near the settlement of Shumy, some activity was noticed on the part of the Ukrainian armed formations starting from September 5. At the moment, it is still impossible to settle whether these actions are aimed at dismantling the illegally constructed positions or, on the contrary, at further strengthening them in order to escalate the situation", - the militant said in a statement.
Being in total obscurity, - Basurin continues, - the "DNR" leader Denis Pushilin decided "to continue monitoring the situation and postpone the start of the operation to remove the Ukrainian fortifications to 10:00 on September 9, 2020".
The head of the occupation administration demanded once again, as an ultimatum, "to independently eliminate the violations of additional measures to strengthen the ceasefire" and "to provide information on the fact of dismantling of illegally built fortifications recorded in writing" by 10 p.m. on September 8.
The so-called "commander-in-chief", - Basurin assures, - "indicated that his order to remove the given structures was not canceled, but postponed". Thus, the "DNR" leader states that he is still determined to attack the Joint Forces positions.
As previously reported, according to the OSCE SMM, units of the Joint Forces operation did not construct fortifications near occupied Horlivka after the ceasefire announcement. "Based on the analysis of aerial surveillance data for the period from December 21, 2019 to September 2, 2020 in the area of the settlement of Shumy (government-controlled, 41 km north of Donetsk), a 25-meter extension of the trench was revealed at the existing positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (can be seen in the pictures even before July 5, 2020). Since July 5, 2020, no changes have been recorded in this area", - the Mission's report said.
Thus, the order of leader of the "DNR" Denis Pushilin to fire at the JF positions near Shumy, arguing that he would supposedly eliminate the ceasefire violations committed by Ukraine in this way, manifested in the arrangement of defensive structures after the signing of the armistice, is an empty shell.