Appeal of Donetsk Foreign Ministry: Kiev has violated the ceasefire 544 times in last three weeks

Appeal to the heads of the Normandy Quartet from the Foreign Ministry of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) on Ukraine’s non-compliance with the Minsk agreement

June 12, 2015 (original Russian)

Aftermath of shelling in Horlovka on June 11, 2015 that killed three women and injured two children

Despite the Declaration in support of a set of measures to implement the Minsk agreement signed by the members of the Normandy Quartet [France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine], in the past three weeks, the Ukrainian Army has continued its systematic violation of the ceasefire.

According to the Ministry of Defense of the Donetsk People’s Republic, from May 25 to June 9, 2015, the truce was violated more than 544 times. Six civilians were killed and 59 wounded. In addition, damage to more than 200 homes and other civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and other cities of the Republic was recorded.

In each confirmed case of fire, the nature of the damage directly points to the use of heavy weapons by the Ukrainian side — mortars and heavy artillery.

These facts suggest that the Ukrainian side is not simply ignoring the call to withdraw heavy weapons from the demarcation line but has actively built up its own military capabilities over the past few months. Daily shelling of the territory of the Republic, together with the growing trade and economic blockade, significantly worsens the humanitarian situation in Donbass.

Given the fact that the Russian Federation, as a member of the Normandy Quartet, is the guarantor of a set of measures to implement the Minsk agreement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Donetsk People’s Republic appeals to you with a request to use all possible means to exert pressure on Kiev’s militaristic regime to stop the provocations that inevitably lead to a further escalation of the conflict and new victims among the citizens of Donbass.

–Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Donetsk People’s Republic

Translated by Greg Butterfield, published on his website ‘Red Star Over Donbass’

More photos of the June 11, 2015 shelling of Horlovka by Ukraine armed forces are published by UK video journalist Graham Phillips, here.

Shelling in Horlovka on June 11, 2015 (Graham Phillips)