Buffer zone creation to be discussed in Minsk ceasefire talks
2015-08-05
Posted by: badanov
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By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
While talks intended to reduce the presence of heavy weapons under 100mm in southeastern Ukraine have collapsed, a new proposal in the Minsk peace talks for a buffer zone is set to be considered later this month, according to Russian language news accounts.
The chief negotiator for the Lugansk People's Republic, Vladislav Danevo said in remarks on Tuesday that while talks regarding removal of heavy weapons under 100mm have collapsed, a proposal for the creation of a buffer zone between the two combatants has shown more promise, according to a news account which appeared in korrespondent.net.
Danevo said that parts of the agreement were agreed to on Monday, but separate sections, including language on where those weapons should be withdrawn to, were the cause of the collapse of talks on the matter. That said, consideration of the proposal is frozen until August 26th, which he labeled as "a clear sabotage."
At the ongoing Minsk peace talks, an unidentified spokesman for the Belorussian foreign ministry has indicated that much of the agreement has been agreed to, with two of the issues remaining between the two combatants to include Kiev's insistence that the removal of weapons take place everywhere except for four places on the line of contact. Rebel negotiators want weapons removal to take place everywhere.
According to a news account in regnum.ru, members of the contact group for safety, which consists of envoys from Germany, Russia, France and Ukraine, will continue to discuss the issue of removal of weapons from the front lines. The announcement was made only hours after Denevo's remarks.
Fighting in Donetsk, Lugansk
Ukrainian media claims that rebel artillery are hitting targets in several sectors of western Donetsk city, according to a news account in tsensor.net, mostly firing at night.
Rebel artillery struck the Ukrainian strongholds of Peski, Avidevka and Opytnoye using 120mm mortar fire and 122mm and 152mm artillery fire, and at Marinka, using tank gunfire (125mm). The report said rebel artillery fired on Ukrainian positions for 18 hours. A separate report said the artillery fire came from the airport, which the rebels have held since February.
The report also said that rebels fired on Leninskiy, near Artemovsk and other locations in Lugansk. A rebel reconnaissance force was stopped by Ukrainian artillery fire in Lugansk as well, and then forced back.
According to an official news release, the Donetsk ministry of defense said that Ukrainian forces fired on rebel forces a total of 45 times, using a total of more than 200 shells. The most intense bombardment took place in Gorlovka, concentrating around the village of Golmovsky. According to Alexander Matyushin, a rebel formation commander who writes for Russian media, the artillery which hit Gorlovka originated from Dzerzhinsk and Svetlodarsk.
The shelling has disrupted electrical power to the city, but reports are that no new damage has been found. Ukrainian artillery fire usually takes place at night, according to the news release. A total 130 rounds hit the city during the night of August 3rd to August 4th.
The Donetsk ministry of defense reported that Ukrainian artillery hit rebel positions at Kuybishevsky, Oktyabrsky and Petrovsky districts of Donetsk city, and at Aleksandrovka, Kalinovka, Spartak and Zaitsevo. One rebel was wounded and another was killed in the shelling. A later report said that an unidentified civilian female was killed in the Kuybishevsky district. The shelling in Kuybishevsky district lasted more than two hours.
Rebel media also has reported a fire fight between units of the Ukrainian Army and the Ukrainian "Aidar" volunteer battalion at Stanitsa Luganskaya, on the Northern Donetsk River in Ukrainian held Lugansk. Weapons used in the confrontation include mortars, RPGs and small arms fire, and began at a regional headquarters. No reports on casualties have been made available.
Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com and on Twitter. You can read past articles about the 2014 war in southeastern Ukraina by clicking here.
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