Head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on Donbas Leonid Kravchuk has said the Ukrainian side during the next TCG meeting, on April 14, will raise the issue of introducing a ceasefire on Orthodox Easter holidays.
"We will have a meeting on April 14 and will raise this issue. Since people will go to the cemeteries [to commemorate their deceased relatives], move around the territory on Easter, so we need to think about mine clearance and control. If we think about people, we must make their lives a priority," he told Ukraina 24 TV channel.
Ukraine will celebrate Orthodox Easter on Sunday, May 2, 2021.
Read alsoKravchuk: Russia sees no other way but to use forceAt the same time, Kravchuk said the truce is a temporary phenomenon. "Easter is over but the war continues. We must decide on such steps that will ensure the ceasefire," he said.
According to Kravchuk, the political issues could be addressed after that.
"Thus, we will be moving toward peace," he added.
Escalation in Donbas
- On March 26, 2021, four Ukrainian soldiers were killed and another two were wounded in enemy shelling near the village of Shumy in Donbas, eastern Ukraine.
- In this regard, President Volodymyr Zelensky instructed Ukraine's delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group on Donbas to initiate an urgent meeting of the security subgroup, as well as urgently discussing this issue at the level of advisers to the Normandy Four leaders.
- Zelensky also planned to hold separate talks with all Normandy leaders in the near future.
- On March 30, 2021, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron held a phone talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin and called on Russia to take on obligations to stabilize the ceasefire in Donbas.
- At the same time, the Kremlin said Macron and Merkel had not demanded that the Russian Federation take on obligations to stabilize the ceasefire in Donbas.
- On March 31, 2021, Kravchuk proposed that the Russian counterparts ensure compliance with the full and comprehensive ceasefire in Donbas starting from April 1, but the Russian delegation showed no support for the initiative.