1ST LEAD Fresh fighting reported in eastern Ukraine, amid rival claims By …
By
our dpa-correspondent and Europe Online
Moscow/Brussels (dpa) – Pro-Russian separatists and the government in
Ukraine on Tuesday accused each other of again violating the
ceasefire agreement in the east of the country.
The claims and counter-claims came amid reports of fresh fighting at
the strategically important Donetsk airport.
In comments carried by the Interfax news agency, Donetsk separatist
leader Alexander Zakharchenko said that government forces had not
begun their withdrawal from built-up areas and the frontline, as
agreed to in Minsk earlier this month.
Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said in Kyiv that the
separatists had violated the ceasefire by attacking government forces
at Donetsk airport.
Two attempts to storm the airport were repelled, Lysenko said,
according to an official transcript.
An unnamed rebel commander told Interfax that militias had managed to
take control of parts of the airport. Donetsk city authorities said
that the situation was extremely tense as shelling continued in the
airport‘s vicinity.
Lysenko said three soldiers had been wounded in the past 24 hours.
On Monday, at least 15 people were killed in the worst fighting in
the area since the ceasefire was declared three weeks ago.
Last week, negotiations began on delineating a buffer zone between
the warring sides.
The talks between military officials from Ukraine, Russia and
separatist commanders were mediated by representatives of the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Separatist leaders and government representatives agreed in a
September 20 memorandum that heavy weapons should be withdrawn 15
kilometres from the front line on each side.
Meanwhile, the European Union said on Tuesday it was closely
monitoring developments.
“While encouraging developments have been registered … relevant
parts of the (Minsk) protocol will need to be properly implemented,”
Maja Kocijancic, a spokeswoman for EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine
Ashton, said after talks between the bloc‘s ambassadors in Brussels.
The European Union and United States have slapped a new round of
sanctions on Russia despite the ceasefire. EU officials have said
that the sanctions might be reviewed if the ceasefire holds.
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