Heavy fighting near Zolote in eastern Ukraine. The broken ceasefire (v2)

(B2) Intense fighting took place on Monday February 17 near Zolote in Ukraine. After several hours of shooting (nearly five hours according to observers), at least five dead and ten wounded were noted.

A rebel attack or a Ukrainian advance

According to Kiev, rebel forces launched a three-pronged attack on Ukrainian positions after an intense artillery barrage that began around 5 a.m. (local time). On the separatist side, it is said that " the fighting began after an advanced Ukrainian military unit tried to cross into territory not controlled by the government and ended up in a minefield »Reports Radio Free Europe. The fighting stopped around 10 a.m. after Moscow-backed separatists call for a ceasefire to recover their wounded and dead said General Ruslan Khomchak, Chief of the General Staff of Ukrainian Forces.

A violation of the Minsk agreements

Anyway, " these violations of the ceasefire and the use of heavy weapons contravene the Minsk agreements and the conclusions of the summit of Heads of State and Government of 9 December said the Quai d'Orsay today (February 19). And France to call on the parties to the restraint, in order to avoid any further escalation on the ground ". Paris calls on Russia in particular to use its considerable influence over the armed formations it supports to ensure the full implementation of the ceasefire ».

A not isolated incident

“This latest incident is not isolated”, according to Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who currently chairs the OSCE. " Every day, the ceasefire is violated, despite the commitments made in the Minsk agreements. [...] It is essential that all parties involved ensure that the commitment to a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire becomes a reality.”

... But a very clear increase

The latest diagram published by the OSCE monitoring mission proves it. Ceasefire violations, recounted in the OSCE daily report of February 19 (mainly on February 17) made a particular leap, representing almost 6 times the average of the events of the last thirty days and about 4 times the daily average for the whole of 2019!

(NGV)

Updated with OSCE figures (last paragraph)