The Russian side cannot provide a complete cease-fire by militants during demining. This was stated by head of the Ukrainian group of the Joint Center for Cease-fire Control and Coordination Lieutenant-General Andrey Taran, - reports the Ukrainska Pravda.
"A special group has been established in the Ukrainian side of the JCCCC that deals exclusively with restoring infrastructure of Donbass, but it is unacceptable for people to work under fire. Unfortunately, I have to state that the Russian side of the JCCCC cannot at the moment provide a complete cease-fire by militants during the demining and restoration of electric, water, gas supply in certain areas determined in Minsk,"- he said.
According to him, Ukraine insists on the safety of the demining operations.
"This situation leads to delays in the restoration process of the infrastructure. Safety of work is a key requirement, which the Ukrainian side of the JCCCC insists on," - he added.
According to Taran, when workis performed on the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions which are not controlled by Ukraine and where Ukrainian citizens continue to live, the ATO force steadily stick to the regime of "cease-fire" according to the Minsk agreements.
However, when the restoration of the infrastructure begins in the areas controlled by the Ukrainian government, the militants start cynical shellfire.
The head of the Ukrainian side noted that, in spite of the Minsk agreements, the number of shellfire from the NFP greatly increased, particularly on the New Year and Christmas holidays.