REUTERS

At an urgent meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group on Donbas settlement held on Ukraine's initiative on Wednesday, April 7, the parties verbally confirmed their commitment to the ceasefire, while the relevant written statement was never signed due to Russia's position.

The only issue on the agenda was returning to strict adherence to the ceasefire agreements reached on July 22, 2020, as per the Ukrainian delegation.

In this regard, the report says the parties confirmed, firstly, "readiness and need to observe the ceasefire and implement the accords reached on July 22, 2020," and secondly, that "there are no additional conditions left [to fulfill] to this end."

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Read alsoRussia continues pulling military hardware toward Ukraine's border (Video)At the same time, it is noted that "in the end, the joint statement proposed by the coordinator of the security subgroup, head of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, Yasar Halit Cevik, in favor of which the Ukrainian side spoke, was never adopted."

"The Russian side demanded that additional amendments be made to the final statement's text, which, in our opinion, had an intention to show it in a more favorable light," the statement says.

"Our position: we reaffirm that we fully comply with the ceasefire and continue meaningful consultations with the aim of actually reducing the level of violence on the contact line," the Ukrainian delegation said.

The next regular TCG general meeting is scheduled for April 14.

Aggravation in Donbas: Latest

On April 6, the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group initiated an emergency meeting in connection with the latest escalation in the country's east.

On March 26, four Ukrainian servicemen were killed and another two – injured by enemy forces near Shumy. Four more soldiers were killed on April 5-6.

The escalation is unfolding amid Russia's moves to deploy troops and military equipment closer to Ukraine borders, as well as to the occupied Crimea, which caused concern in Ukraine and among its western partners, including NATO.