Members of the Ukrainian delegation at a meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on Donbas have raised the issue of new areas for demining and new sites for the disengagement of troops along the contact line in Ukraine's east.
This was reported by the press service of the President's Office.
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It says that the participants in the consultations "agreed to develop a draft action plan." It, the President's Office says, could as early as today unlock agreements on demining at 20 new sites.
The same draft action plan "will make it possible to move on to practical actions on the disengagement of forces and equipment at the next four sites."
The previous withdrawal of troops in Donbas took place near the town of Zolote and the village of Petrovske in 2019. According to the agreements, the parties were to withdraw the military and equipment 1 km from the contact line. Among the key conditions is a sustainable ceasefire. In addition, it was one of Russia's requirements for the pending Normandy meeting.
Since OSCE monitors continued recording attacks by Russia-controlled forces, the public was outraged by the Presidential Office's consent to the disengagement, while Donbas war veterans even formed mobile groups in Zolote to independently track ceasefire violations.
In the same month, a series of "No surrender" rallies took place in Ukraine. Protesters demanded that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should not "surrender the territory."
The areas abandoned by Russia-controlled formations were being gradually cleared of mines and put in order. At the same time, the withdrawal of troops did not stop the Russian invaders, as they continued shelling with proscribed weapons to attack positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
