"Christmas Eve brought a record number of attacks since the beginning of 2016. All attempts to stop the audacious provocation militants through representatives of the Russian side to the Joint Center for monitoring and coordination of the ceasefire [JCCC] were in vain," reads the statement.
Under these conditions, the head of the Ukrainian side to the JCCC appealed to the leadership of the Donetsk office of the OSCE SMM "to warn the ‘leaders’ of the certain areas of Donetsk region that the Ukrainian side is not going to leave unpunished the facts of cynical provocative shelling of positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," If the militants continue the shooting, the Army will be forced to use all means available to neutralize the enemy firing points. It is noted that only after such warning, the militants stopped shooting.
Read alsoMilitants "celebrate" Christmas Eve with 51 attacks on ATO forces"At the same time, pro-Russian rebels have not abandoned the intention of further military provocation. According to information obtained, the illegal armed groups have accumulated a substantial number of armored vehicles and weapons in several directions as of the morning of January 7, indicating their intention to launch massive provocative actions against Ukrainian troops with the use of tanks and artillery systems, which are supposed to have long been withdrawn from the demarcation line," said the Ministry of Defense.
Given the current situation, the head of the Ukrainian side to the JCCC was forced to warn representatives of the Russian side to the JCCC and the OSCE SMM that no massive armed provocations by the militants will be left without an adequate response of the Ukrainian Army of Ukraine with the use of all weapons necessary.
